The Glee Project: A Virtual Season
by Sparky Young Upstart
Summary: The Glee Project is BACK! A season using characters created by various authors, the winner of this will receive a spot in my ongoing Glee fanfic over on gleeforum*com. This competition is sure to be filled with victory, heartbreak, drama...maybe even romance? Who can know for sure! SUBMISSIONS CLOSED.
1. Auditions I

**Alright, let's get this started! This is a virtual season of the Glee Project, using characters submitted by various people from FFnet and tumblr. I still need 3-5 more characters, so please feel free to submit your own character via PM. More details can be found on my profile page.**

**This Glee Project fic is different from most of the other ones because the winner of this (who will be chosen based on how much I like writing for them) will receive a character based on them in my ongoing Glee fanfic on gleeforum*com.**

**In this first chapter we will meet the first four contestants, who come from Hell Devil 13, Cheetaswillruletheworld, Shaqueerah from tumblr and paco*haley respectively. If you see **_Character: _**followed by dialogue, that means they're in the confessional.**

* * *

_Robert:_ "So, it's the third season of The Glee Project, and we're really excited to see all of the talent that we've gotten in the past two years. I really doubt that this year is going to disappoint. We're holding open auditions in both Los Angeles and New York, and we got a great turn out."

Indeed they did, as we see crowds of kids lined up outside the buildings in each city. Some of them are practicing singing, most of them are bundled up for warmth. As we head inside, a lot of the kids have become fast friends and are gossiping about the show and the competition. A redheaded boy, an african-american girl, and boy with a multicoloured mohawk are approached by the camera. "We're going to be on The Glee Project!" they all shout excitedly.

The auditions are just beginning, however, and we see the first of those from Los Angeles inside Robert's office. An Asian boy walks in. He's got spiked black hair and a plaid shirt on, but the sleeves are rolled up to reveal several tattoos. His ears are pierced and there's a chain around his neck with a ring hanging off it.

"Hi, how are you?" Robert asks.

"I'm good, you?"

"Good. So, what's you're name?"

"I'm **Lucas Hiroshi-Miles**, but you can just call me Luke" the boy says with a smile.

"Alright. So Luke, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well I'm from here in LA. I'm 21. I'm also half-Japanese, and I lived in the country until I was ten. Growing up mixed race was really difficult, and I tried to get away from that by listening and singing punk music. But then we moved back to America and it just started getting worse, and I fell in with a bad crowd." His breath hitches. "We...well we basically formed a gang." Robert's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Yeah, I started smoking and drinking young, and we bullied other kids. I would've been kicked out of school but I was just able to pass. In, uh, in my senior year we got into a fight with another gang and I saw one of my friends get hurt really bad, and that was kind of the wakeup call for me."

"So you were able to get out?"

"Yeah." The answer makes Robert visibly relieved. After only a few minutes Robert is enthralled with his story. "I got back into Soccer, and managed to use that to get a scholarship for UCLA, and that's where I'm studying for now."

"Wow. Well, I'm glad you were abel to share your story with us, Luke." Robert says with a smile. "So the next question would be, why do you want to be on Glee?"

"Well there's never been a real 'punk' character on Glee, and I want to show that the punk genre isn't necessarily bad. I mean, when I started with it I used it as catharsis and venting, but it's not what actually lead me to get into the gang, and it even helped pull me out."

"Well that's really great to hear. I know I'd enjoy seeing a character like that."

"Thanks!"

"Alright, so I guess it's time to hear you sing."

"Okay. I'll be singing **'Good Riddance' by Green Day**.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test, and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life."

"That was very nice, thank you."

"Thank you!"

Luke leaves the office smiling.

Next to enter is a girl who looks a lot like Snow White - very pale, with long black hair. She's dressed in a black shirt and black skirt reaching her knees.

"Hi!" she says sweetly as she enters.

"Hi, what's you're name?" Robert asks.

"I'm **Blanche Montgomery**, I'm 20 years old, and I'm originally from Yonkers."

"Awesome. So tell me a bit about yourself."

"Okay, so I come from a bit of an abusive household. I mean, not physically abusive, but my father...well he's basically an ass. He always let me know that he didn't like me taking ballet, or piano, singing lessons. It didn't help that I had a tendency to quit them either."

Robert's smile falters ever-so-slightly. "Is...that something that's carried over to here?"

"Oh no! No!" Blanche quickly backtracks. "No, I've found my niche. I got into guitar, and I also got a musical theatre scholarship from Juilliard, but my family didn't give me any support so I had to drop out after the first year. I moved to LA with some friends, and ever since I've been supporting myself with odd jobs. I sing at clubs on weekends, I do waitressing, and I even pole dance."

Robert's eyes go wide and his jaw drops. "Uh - wow!"

"It's not what you think!" Blanche giggles. "It actually takes a lot of skill to do, and I had to take lessons!"

"Well it sounds like you've got a pretty interesting story. What do you think you could bring to Glee is you won?"

"I could totally play a bitch character. I mean, all the other mean girls graduated and there's a serious shortage now; I can totally fill that void."

"We sure do love our bitchy cheerios on glee, don't we?" The two laugh. "Well, I'd love to hear you sing."

"Alright. I'm going to sing **'Blow Me (One Last Kiss)' by P!nk**."

"Awesome, let's hear it."

"White knuckles and sweaty palms from hanging on too tight

Clenched shut jaw, I've got another headache again tonight

Eyes on fire, eyes on fire, and they burn from all the tears

I've been crying, I've been crying, I've been dying over you

Tie a knot in the rope, tryin' to hold, tryin' to hold,

But there's nothing to grasp so I let go

I think I've finally had enough, I think I maybe think too much

I think this might be it so blow me one last kiss

You think I'm just too serious, I think you're full of it

My head is spinning so blow me one last kiss

Just when it can't get worse, I've had a s*** day!

Have you had a s*** day? We've had a s*** day!

I think that life's too short for this, I want back my ignorance and bliss

I think I've had enough of this, blow me one last kiss!"

"Blanche, that was really good."

"Thank you Robert!" She winks at him before skipping out of the room.

At the New York venue, the next boy to audition pops his head through the door and grins before entering, earning a chuckle from Robert. He has curly brown hair on top of his head, green eyes, and a very young looking face. He's dressed in a plain white t-shirt and jeans.

"Hello!" Robert greets him.

"Hi Robert! It's nice to meet you finally! I'm, uh, **Harry Carson**."

"Nice to meet you Harry! Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself."

"Alright, well, I'm 21 years old. I'm right out of Columbus Ohio, home of the Warblers."

"Oh cool! So you've got a bit of a first hand experience with Glee already then?"

"Yeah, it's pretty neat."

"And you flew all the way down here to meet me in person?"

"Sure did! So yeah, I'm a bit of a goofball. I love playing pranks and just having fun, which is really great because when I was younger I had a lot of problems."

"How so?"

"Well, I've got Bipolar I. It's what you normally think of when you hear the word 'bipolar'; I would be perfectly fine one minute and then I'd just go mental. My friends used to say that I would Hulk out at them, but it really...it's not as fun as it sounds. I beat my best friend up really bad once, and - well I basically felt like a monster... "

"Were you able to get treatment?"

"Yeah, me and my doctor were able to get the medications balanced so I could actually function without becoming emotionally stunted. It's still a big responsibility for me to keep it under control, but I'm at a good place right now."

"That's really good to hear. Alright, so what do you think you can bring to Glee?"

"The show, which is great, it's never really focused on mental disorders. I mean they touch on stuff like OCD and Asberger's, but I've never seen them really examine how hard it can be to live with a disorder like that or like mine, and I feel there are some really good stories and that it could definitely help out kids who might be feeling the same way."

"That sounds like it would be interesting. I know Ryan has always wanted to take a closer look at mental health issues on the show."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! So, let's hear you sing!"

"Okay. I'm gonna sing **"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol**."

"Good song."

"We'll do it all

Everything

On our own

We don't need

Anything

Or anyone

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know

How to say

How I feel

Those three words

Are said too much

They're not enough"

"Thank you Harry, that was very nice."

"Thank you! See you soon!"

Robert laughs as Harry leaves. Soon after, the african-american girl from earlier walks in. She's dressed casually, in a sweater and loose jeans. Her hair is long, loose, and curly, falling down her back. She's got a kind face with stunning blue eyes. She smiles excitedly as soon as she sees Robert.

"Hi Robert!" she cries.

"Hi! You seem excited."

"I am, I really am."

"Alright, well what's your name first off?"

"Okay. I'm **Lila Rachford**, from New York, New York, and I am 18 years old."

"Wow, so fresh out of high school?"

"Just about!"

"That's great. So, tell me a bit yourself."

"Okay, so, I grew up right here in the city with my brother and my parents. But then when I was eleven my parents split, and I took it really badly. I started falling into a depression and there were times were I honestly didn't think I'd be able to get out. But then I discovered that I had a condition called synesthesia."

Robert tilts his head in interest. "I've heard of that, what is that?"

"It's actually pretty neat. Basically I've got some of my senses crossed? Like, when I hear a sound I see patterns of colors in front of my face, and then when I read letters I see them as certain colors."

"So you're saying that, when I talk to you, you can see colors corresponding to my words?"

"Yeah! You're voice is kind of a like a dark green with flecks of grey in it and the colors just sort of...wibble in front of my face."

"That's so interesting. And it happens when you sing too?"

"Yes, and I actually started getting heavy into singing because I wanted to kind of, toy with the colors and see what would happen and what my singing voice would, well, look like."

"Cool. Alright, so tell me why you should be on Glee."

"Well I have never seen anybody on television with synesthesia, so I think it would be phenomenal if I could be the first. I mean, it's a show about singing and I think having a synesthete would add a whole new layer to things."

"Well you're right, it would definitely be new and interesting. Okay, so what will you be singing today?"

"I'm going to sing **"For a Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic" by Paramore**.

Just talk yourself up

And tear yourself down

You've hit your one wall

Now find a way around

Well what's the problem?

You've got a lot of nerve

So what did you think I would say?

No you can't run away, no you can't run away

So what did you think I would say?

No you can't run away, no you can't run away

You wouldn't

I never wanted to say this

You never wanted to stay

I put my faith in you, so much faith

And then you just threw it away."

"Great job Lila."

"Really? Thanks!" She beams brightly before leaving.

Robert examines his notes in both cities. These four - they're definitely going through.

* * *

**Don't forget, you can STILL submit characters for this! More details are on my profile page.**


	2. Auditions II

**Okay, time for the next four auditionees! These four come from JAM11, gleerox, jamaisview (from glee forum*com) and a second character from Shaqueerah.**

**Also, to those who still want to submit, I'm still accepting characters! I need one more male character, but I'm willing to accept another guy and girl beyond that to reach 14. Don't forget to check the sign-up sheet on my profile page and to PM them to me!**

* * *

Robert: In addition to the open casting calls, we also allowed contestants to send in videos for their auditions. The results we got were really great, and really...interesting.

Robert sits in an office with several assistants. They're gathered around the computer watching videos and commenting on them. One video in particular has a young guy wearing a coat, trilby, and glasses.

"I feel like I can bring something to Glee that's never been seen before - superheroes!"

The boy tears his coat open to reveal a Superman T-Shirt. Robert and the other casting directors burst into laughter. Other videos begin to roll.

**Fred Michaels**

A boy sits in front of his camera. He is rather tanned and has long hair tied back in a ponytail. His eyes are deep blue and sit behind a pair of glasses. There's a small scar on the right side of his lips.

"Hello Robert! The name's Fred Michaels and I would like to be on the glee project! I'm 21 years old and I live in Houston, Texas. I was born and raised by my two moms, Mel and Sophia, and they've been encouraging me to get into musical theatre from a young age. I actually just - just! - finished college and got a degree in music, and I was planning on becoming a music teacher, but my mom's thought it would be a better idea for me to audition for this show, so here I am!

Being raised by two moms, especially in Texas, can be pretty hard. I was definitely bullied a bit for that, but I powered through and I believe I'll be able to bring that vulnerability and that perspective to the show and reach a lot of kids. Glee's touched on that topic a bit, but they've never really fully explored it. In addition I also have a lot of technical singing experience and I can sing in various genres pretty well. So, I hope you consider me for The Glee Project, and if not then thank you for your time!"

The video cuts to him singing **"Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus**.

"When I see your smile

Tears roll down my face

I can't replace

And now that I'm strong I have figured out

How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul

And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven..."

**Rebecca Parker**

A young woman sits in front of the camera on a sofa. She seems small. her hair is light brown, straight, and has a side-fringe with a few purple highlights. Her eyes are hazel and fairly large. On her lap sits an infant, not much older than a year.

"Hey, Robert, and Zach and Ryan and whoever's watching this video! I'm Rebeca Parker and this little angel is Rosie. Say hi Rosie!"

The girl points to the camera. The baby looks vaguely in that direction and holds her arm in the air.

"I'm 22 years old, living in San Francisco, California. Ever since I was little I wanted to be either a singer or a gymnast, and while I was in college training to be the latter I found out I was pregnant, and then nine months later Rosie was born. It was a really big change for me and my family. I had to drop out of college and move in beside my parents, and now I support myself by teaching at a preschool. My parents have to take care of Rosie while I'm at work which is, well it's hard, but I don't really have much of a choice at the moment because she's so young. If I were to get on Glee I think I could play a really great character because I know what it's like to be a young mother, and I have first hand experience on how to raise a child while trying to live my own life. Plus on a personal note, it would be really great for me and my family if I were to get in because it's a job, and I could totally use the money. Of course I have the talent to back it up too, so I really hope you all pick me to be on the show!"

Cut to her singing **"Please Don't Leave Me" by P!nk**.

"I don't know if I can yell any louder

How many time I've kicked you outta here?

Or said something insulting?

I can be so mean when I wanna be

I am capable of really anything

I can cut you into pieces

But my heart is broken

Please don't leave me

Please don't leave me

I always say how I don't need you

But it's always gonna come right back to this

Please, please, don't leave me."

**Arthur MacFadden**

A plain-looking young man sits in front of the camera. He has dark brown hair and green eyes, and seems tall and lanky. When he speaks, he has a British accent.

"Hello, Robert. My name's Arthur MacFadden. I'm 19 years old, and this is my audition tape for The Glee Project. I imagine from my accent you can tell that I'm not from around here originally - I was born and raised in London, England. I'm a bit of a shy and quiet person and I got bullied for it a lot in school, and I actually started singing around then as well just because I needed the outlet. For the past few years I've been hoping to jumpstart a career as a performer but I haven't had much luck. That's why I moved here to Chicago in the hopes that I could, y'know, make it big.

I think I should be on The Glee Project because I've got a great attitude and a huge passion for singing and performing, and that's what Glee's all about, right? Getting people to open up and find that passion for music. Plus all the characters on Glee right now, they've all caught on to performing fairly quickly, but there's never been the guy who starts off shaky, and gets better, and I think that would be a great arc for a character because then you get to see that growth and it's right there, right in front of you. So uh, yeah, that's my whole spiel and I hope you pick me to be on The Glee project!"

Cut to him singing **"Speechless" by Lady GaGa**.

"I can't believe what you said to me

Last night when we were alone

You threw your hands up

Baby you gave up, you gave up

I can't believe how you looked at me

With your James Dean glossy eyes

In your tight jeans with your long hair

And your cigarette stained lies

Could we fix you if you broke?

And is your punch line just a joke?

I'll never talk again

Oh girl you've left me speechless

You've left me speechless, so speechless

And I'll never love again,

Oh friend you've left me speechless

You've left me speechless, so speechless..."

**Dallas McCartney**

An attractive blonde girl sits across from the camera with a big smile. She has long blonde hair and brown eyes. The girl is very muscular and uh...busty. When she opens her mouth she has a thick Texas drawl, thicker than Fred's.

"Hey y'all, my name's Dallas McCartney and I'm auditioning for The Glee Project! I'm 19 years old, I live in Houston Texas, and I'm also a proud lesbian. A lot of people think I'm a bit of a stereotype because I love to play sports and heck, I even tried to get on the football team once, but I don't really mind because I'm tough. I actually got into singing because my parents were trying to make me less masculine, but I guess that kinda backfired when I fell in love with rock and jazz." She giggles before continuing. "They were pretty cool with me coming out, and ever since I've been big into music. I perform a lot as a solo artist at bars and clubs on the weekends, and I've just graduated high school to do my audition.

I think I should be on glee for two reasons. One: I've got an awesome voice; it's a really jazz/rock sound that isn't represented on Glee at the moment. Second, Glee has never really had the kind of female jock character that I could play if I got on the show, and I think it would be really awesome and even inspiring for girls to see another girl playing all the 'boys' sports. But yeah, that's what I've got to say, I hope I didn't take up too much of your time, and...yeah! See you soon, I hope!"

Cut to her singing **"Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin**.

"You need coolin', baby, I'm not foolin',

I'm gonna send you back to schoolin',

Way down inside honey, you need it,

I'm gonna give you my love,

I'm gonna give you my love.

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

You've been learnin', baby, I've been yearnin',

All them good times, baby, baby, I've been yearnin',

Way, way down inside honey, you need it,

I'm gonna give you my love... I'm gonna give you my love.

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

Wanna Whole Lotta Love

Wanna Whole Lotta Love"

We cut back to Robert and the casting directors sorting through headshots with names written on them.

"I think that Arthur has a really great voice and we shouldn't pass it up." Robert says. A woman beside him nods in agreement and posts Arthur's photo under a heading that says "ACCEPTED". They continue to sort through every photo, every video, every person searching for those diamonds in the rough. A few glimpses show that Dallas, Rebecca, and Fred have all been accepted as well


	3. Auditions III

**The last four characters! These come from gleerox, Liv-Love-Laugh-7, gleechick21, and jamaisview (from ****glee*forum). With this, the submissions are closed and the season will officially begin some time in December (I'm too busy with school and NaNoWriMo to focus on fics this month, but on the upside we're halfway there.**

* * *

Back in the L.A. auditions, an African-American boy walks into the room. He's dressed rather preppy, and has a slight limp that Robert immediately notices.

"Hi! How are you today?" the casting director asks.

"I'm doing pretty good; yourself?" the boy responds while flashing a big smile.

"I'm doing good today. So, what's your name, and what's interesting about you?"

"I am **Jamie Louis Howard**, I'm 18 years old, and I'm from right here in Los Angeles. I've been involved in my school's choir since I was little and have always wanted to perform for people, and I also actually came out to my friends and family as gay two years ago."

Robert nods. "And that went well?"

"Oh yeah, totally. They're cool with it."

"Okay. Now I have to ask you if you're alright?" Robert gestures towards Jamie's leg with his pen. "You seem to have a bit of a limp."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, I thought you might ask that." He bends over and begins rolling up his left pant leg. Underneath is not flesh, but a shiny plastic prosthetic. Robert's eyes go wide.

"Oh, wow. What happened there? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all. I was in a car accident when I was six years old, and what happend was some of the wreckage got jammed into my leg, and since it was so small it was almost severed. Then it started getting infect, and they had to amputate it in order to save my life. So now I've got my prosthesis, which goes all the way up to here." He brings his hand to just above his knee. "It's given me some issues over the years, but at this point it's as much a part of me as an actual leg, and honestly it's not a big deal."

"So you've learned to live with it?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. And if I were to get on Glee then that's the kind of message that I want to send; that you can go on even if you literally lose part of yourself."

"I think that'd be a great message for them. Alright, let's hear you sing."

"Okay, I'll be singing **"I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz**.

When I look into your eyes

It's like watching the night sky

Or a beautiful sunrise

There's so much they hold

And just like them old stars

I see that you've come so far

To be right where you are

How old is your soul?

I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up."

Jamie finishes with a smile on his face. Robert claps. "That was very good. Nice work!"

"Thanks!" Jamie nods before walking out of the room. Robert writes a few notes about him, but he already knows that Jamie is going to make it.

In the viewing room, the crew are still going over videos for online auditions.

**Livie Barbara**

The next video opens on a Latina girl of average height and weight, with very short curly chocolate hair and eyes to match.

"Hi Ryan." She says quietly. "My name's Olivia Barbara, but you can call me Livie. I'm 19 years old and I'm in Middletown, New Jersey right no, and I would really love to be on the glee project. I've been singing with my twin sister Bailey ever since we were little. We were those kind of twins - we'd sing together, put on shows, we had perfect harmonies." A smile starts to grow on her face, but it fades. "Then when we were seventeen she found a lump on her breast and, uh, it was breast cancer." She takes a moment to catch her breath. "I was lucky, that I didn't develop anything but she had to undergo chemo and treatment was really hard. I actually cut my hair off to make a wig for her, and she loved it, but unfortunately she passed away a few months later.

I want to be on Glee because the last thing she told me was to keep on singing. At first it was hard doing it by myself, but now I'm more confident because I always feel like she's right there with me. I think I could play a really deep character on glee. The show has talked about that kind of loss when Sue was there, and I feel like she and I could be kindred spirits or something. So that's my appeal. I guess you want to see me sing now, huh?"

Skip ahead to her standing up and holding a hairbrush like a microphone. She is singing **"Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri**.

"I know I can't take one more step towards you

Cause all that's waiting is regret

And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore

You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live half alive

And now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are

Running 'round leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a cold

From the ice inside your soul

So don't come back for me

Who do you think you are?"

**Francis Smith**

This video shows a boy with shaggy, curly long hair coming down to his shoulders and sharp blue eyes. He's standing in front of a window and dressed up in a sweater and sweatpants. When he speaks, he's got a thick Scottish accent.

"Hi there! My name is Francis Smith, and I would like to be on the Glee Project. I am 22, and I live in Bunessan, a town on the teeny-tiny little island of Mull." The video skips forward to him holding a map of Scotland closer to the camera. His hand trembles as he does so. "It is in Scotland, right..." a few breaths are heard as he struggles to move his finger to point to his hometown. "Here. And it is in Scotland, _not_ Ireland, just in case you were gonna get me confused with Damian." The clip cuts back to him. "I lived there with my family for most of my life until I moved out a few years ago and came to Glasgow. My family is super-religious, and I'm...well I'm not, so there was some tension between us because I never believed much of the stuff they said, but they are very devout.

I also have Dyspraxia, which is a kind of neurological condition. It's kind of like...it's like Dyslexia of the body. I get tremors sometimes, and I have a lot of difficulty with hand-eye coordination and handwriting and stuff like that. There isn't a medication I can take for it, but I have been seeing specialists since I was a wee lad and have it mostly under control. What I want to bring to Glee if I were to win is a larger awareness. Dyspraxia affects a wide spectrum of people all over the world but hardly receives any attention, and I want to be able to bring that attention to it, to let kids know that they're not freaks and they're not alone."

The video cuts ahead to him singing **"Home" by Michael Buble**.

"Another summer day

Has come and gone away

In Paris and Rome

But I wanna go home

Mmmmmmmm

May be surrounded by

A million people I

Still feel all alone

I just wanna go home

Oh, I miss you, you know

And I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you

Each one a line or two

"I'm fine baby, how are you?"

Well I would send them but I know that it's just not enough

My words were cold and flat

And you deserve more than that."

Robert and his team watch the video end. "I like him." Robert says. "He's in." Robert takes Fracis' picture from the UNDECIDED section of the wall and moves it to ACCEPTED, where it sits beside Livie's.

Let's flash over to the final audition in the New York office. A confident-looking Chinese girl strides in. She's dressed stylishly and has her hair tied up in a bun.

"Hey!" she calls excitedly as she walks in, prompting a smile from Robert.

"Hello!" Robert replies. "You sure seem excited!"

"I am, I'm so excited!" she says.

"Okay, well we'll start with your name and a little bit about your life."

"Awesome. My name's Jing Moqi." She pronounces it 'Ying Mak-zi'. "I'm 23 years old and I live in New York City. My parents emigrated here before I was born from China, but I try really hard to defy the kinds of stereotypes that you always here. I will speak my mind and make sure everyone knows my opinion. Ever since I was little I was striving to be the best at everything I could get my hands on. My friends have actually called me a bit of a real-life Rachel Berry."

"Really?" Robert asks with a laugh. Jing nods and continues.

"So I was really into the arts and I actually got accepted into Tisch, but I wasn't able to get a scholarship for it, so I'm currently working two jobs in order to support my studies."

"So if you get in," Robert says, "You're going to have to quit all of that. Are you willing to do that?"

"Oh yes." Jing says. "I am so prepared for this."

"Alright. So what can you bring to Glee?"

"I can totally be an over-achiever student. I can envision myself as, like, pouncing on all of the positions that open up when the former students graduate, and that would especially include Glee club."

"That sounds like fun. Now let's hear you sing."

"Okay, I'll be singing **"Roxy" from **_**Chicago**_.

The name on everybody's lips

Is gonna be Roxie

The lady raking in the chips

Is gonna be Roxie

I'm gonna be a celebrity

That means

Somebody everyone knows

They('re) gonna recognize my eyes

My hair my teeth my boobs my nose

From just some dumb mechanics wife

I'm gonna be Roxie

Who says that murder's not an art?

And who in case she doesn't hang

Can say she started with a bang?

Roxie Hart!"

She's got a powerful broadway voice that really impresses Robert. "That was excellent! Thank you!"

"Thank you!" she replies as she skips out of the room.

Robert goes over the notes he's taken. Jing totally makes the cut.

_Robert:_ So, we've decided on our twelve contenders. Now all that's left to do is inform them that they've made the cut.

Robert stares out of several computer screens across America, and the world even. As he speaks, twelve anxious young adults hold their breath.

"So, you know that a lot of people audition for the show." He begins. As they listen, the kids nod. _Hurry up and tell me_, Harry's face seems to say. "It's a big show, it even goes international, and we can only accept twelve contestants.

"Uh-huh." Rebecca says nervously as he goes on.

"So now it's my job to tell everybody who we called back whether they've made it or not."

"Yeah. Yeah." Luke nods excitedly, his face a mishmash of emotions as he waits for the result.

"So," Robert sighs dramatically. A little _too_ dramatically. "I can only tell you that...you're on the glee project."

"What?!" Arthur shouts excitedly. Lila throws her hands over her mouth, then begins waving them in excitement. Blanche screams in victory.

"You're so dramatic!" Francis cries as he shakes with joy, pointing an accusing finger at Robert through the webcam. "That was mean!" He can't help but laugh, though.

"Mom!" Dallas calls offscreen. A muffled response comes from another room. "Mom, I got on the Glee Project!" There's a pause, then a loud "Woohoo!" is heard in the background.

Jing squeels and flails her arms around. Livie is in tears. "Hallelujah!" Fred shouts in his jubilance.

"Seriously?" Jamie asks.

"Yes!" Robert says with a reply.

"YEEHAW!" Jamie cries as he throws his arms in the air.

So, now you know the next group of kids competing in The Glee Project. Arthur, Rebecca, Like, Lila, Fred, Dallas, Harry, Blanche, Jamie, Jing, Francis, and Livie! Twelve will compete, but only one will win

**THE GLEE PROJECT!**


	4. Individuality I

**So we finally begin the competition! Another big thanks and congratulations to those who submitted characters for me. This chapter might be longer than the others just because I wanted to show all the contestants meeting each other - the openings for the other weeks probably won't be as long.**

* * *

The dorm room is completely empty and silent. Stylish new furniture is strewn about the living room and kitchen. A single door to the outside world can be seen. Slowly, it opens wide. Rebecca Parker pokes her head in.

"Hello?" she calls out curiously. There's no response. She slowly slinks into the room with a smile on her face. "Oh my gosh, first one in!" She does a little victory dance. It doesn't last long, though, as the door opens once again and Arthur McFadden also enters the room. As soon as they see the other person they run up to each other and high-five.

"We made it!" Rebecca cries out.

"I know!" Arthur responds. They both have hug smiles plastered onto their faces.

_Arthur_: I can't believe I actually made it onto the Glee Project. I mean...I've always thought it would be cool to be on Glee, but now that I'm actually here it's just...it's crazy!

Soon after, the door opens once again. Lila Rachford enters the room and is greeted by cheers from Arthur and Rebecca. She runs over to hug them. Every two minutes or so another person enters the room, and soon all twelve contestants are inside, chatting and meeting each other. Jing Moqi can be seen checking out Luke Hiroshi-Miles.

_Jing_: The amount of talent in this room is ridiculous. It also helps that some of the guys here are, like, really hot.

_Jamie_: I look over and I see one chick ogling another guy, and I can't blame her, but seriously? This is a competition; I don't want to get distracted by the cute guys that are all around me.

Soon things calm down and the group has organized themselves into a circle in the living room.

"Alright", says Blanche, "we should probably introduce ourselves so that we can get to know each other. We're going to be stuck in these tight quarters for quite a while, after all. I'll go first." She clears her throat and straightens up. "I'm Blanche Montgomery from New York, I'm 20 years old and currently living in Los Angeles, and I'm working odd jobs to support myself while waiting to get into Juilliard."

"How odd are they?" Fred asks.

"Well, I pole dance..." Blanche blushes as a few other contenders gasp. Harry wolf whistles. "No, it's not like that! You have to have like a ton of lower body strength because you're hanging on with just your legs and you're way high up in the air and stuff!"

_Dallas_: Blanche is, basically, a pole dancer. Now I don't want to be the one who starts crushing on people the first day but that is something I wold not mind seeing.

Blanche turns to her right and looks at Francis Smith. "Me next? Alright. My name's Francis Smith -"

"Are you Scottish?!" Arthur chimes from across the room. Francis nods excitedly.

"And you're English!" he responds. The two get up and high-five each other. "U.K. bros!" Francis shouts, prompting a few giggles from the surrounding kids. After the tender bro embrace is finished they return to their spots. "Yeah, like you heard I'm Scottish. I've got mild Dyspraxia, which means I sometimes have issues with hand eye coordination, but that's mostly under control. I came from a very Christian family back home, but I'm trying to distance myself from them because they can get pretty...intense."

Francis: I was a bit uneasy telling people about me not agreeing with my family's values because I know there have been quite a few devout Christians in the competition before. But as far as I can tell everybody was cool with it.

"My turn! My turn!" Lila pipes up very excitedly. "Okay, I'm Lila Rachford, I'm 18 and I'm from New York New York -" she sings the last part "- and I've got a condition called synesthesia."

Rebecca immediately places a comforting hand on Lila's shoulder. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she says sympathetically. The older girl is surprised when Lila snorts with laughter.

"It's not a disease!" she cries, and Rebecca looks a little embarrassed. "No, it's like a psychological thing where I can see sound."

"Whoa, that must be so cool when you sing." Jing comments from across the couch. Lila nods.

"It is, but it can get bad because if things get too...too much, then there's like a sensory overload in my head and I get really bad migraines. But most of the time I'm fine."

There's a brief pause after Lila's introduction, and Harry decides to fill it. "Okay, My name's Harry Carson, born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Yes, I am a Warbler." The rest of the group laughs at his comment. "I've, um...I'm bipolar." The laughs quiet down in surprise. The are a few uneasy looks in the room, and Harry can sense that those around him are scared he might lash out at them. "I've got it under control for the most part, but it was a long, difficult road and I need to keep up on my meds to make sure I don't freak out. But I'm good now!" He grins broadly, alleviating most of the fears of his cast mates. "I won't go mental or anything, I'm fine!"

Harry then looks around and points at Jing to go next. "Okay, my name's Ying Mok-zi, spelt J-I-N-G M-O-Q-I in case you're wondering. My family came down from China before I was born, but I try to live my own All-American life. Also, just to warn you, I'm gonna speak my mind whenever I have to." She wiggles a threatening finger at the other kids, who giggle nervously.

Beside her is Jamie Howard, who goes next. "Okay, I'm Jamie Howard, I'm 18 and come from L.A. I am also gay and proud!" the statement earns him a few claps and nods of approval from the others. "Also, you guys might have noticed that I walk with a bit of a limp, and that's because of this guy." Jamie rolls up his pant leg, and a few of the others gasp when they see his prosthetic.

_Luke_: When I did first see Jamie I thought he might have just, like, pulled something before the competition or something. But then I saw that he's got a prosthetic, and I thought 'whoa, this guy's only got one leg and he made it into the competition. He must be really good.'

"Yeah, I was in a car accident when I was little and we had to amputate my leg. I've learned to live with it though, it's been twelve years." Despite his injury, Jamie keeps a smile on his face.

Livie raises her hand to go next. "Hi, I'm Livie Barbara. I come from New Jersey, and I'm 19. I got into singing really young and would perform with my twin sister, but a few years ago she got cancer..." Her voice trails. Luke, sitting beside her, puts a comforting hand on her shoulder as she continues. "The last thing she told me before she passed was to keep singing, and that's what I'm here to do."

A few "awe"s come from around her, but she manages to keep it together. Luke decides to introduce himself next. "Hi, I'm Luke Hiroshi-Miles. I'm half Japanese, and I actually lived there as a kid before my family moved to the states. I didn't quite fit in when I got here, fell in with abad crowd and the like. It was basically a gang."

"Oh my gosh." Lila says with surprise.

Lila: I've seen gangs on the streets before, and I here all the time about the kinds of things they get up to. I'm looking at Luke and he seems like such a sweet kid and it's hard to think he could have been in a situation like that.

"I got out though, with help form my family and the power of punk music." He emphasizes the last part comically. "I'm in a good place now" he says with a nod.

Next up is Rebecca. "Okay!" she says cheerfully. "I'm Rebecca, I'm 22 from San Fran, California, and I am a mom." She nods as a few people react in surprise. "I got pregnant with Rosie a few years back. Fortunately I was out of high school back then, but I had to drop out of college. Actually..." Rebecca digs around in her pockets until she finds a picture of her daughter. "Here we go." She passes it to Lila, who awes at the photo before passing it around.

"What about the dad?" Harry asks. "Is he around?"

"Well we're not together anymore, but he's a great dad and always makes sure she's taken care of. Him and my grandparents are watching her right now. It...kinda sucks that I have to be separated from her for so long, but in the end I want to win this so that I can support her and give her a good life." Rebecca's smiles is thin; it's clear that she misses her daughter.

Arthur volunteers to go next. "Hey, I'm Arthur McFadden, 19, and as you can tell I'm from England. I've always been a pretty shy and quiet guy, except for when I sing. I came to America not too long ago to pursue a singing career. As you can tell, it's going pretty good!" He smiles and earns a few laughs from those around him.

Arthur looks around and points to Fred. "Awesome" the boy replies. "I'm Fred Michael, I'm from Houston, Texas -"

"Hold up!" Dallas calls. "You're from Houston?"

"Yeah! Are you?"

Dallas nods excitedly. The two of them high five. "Houston represent!" Dallas shouts in victory. Fred continues.

"So yeah, my story is pretty general. I got interested in music at a young age, got raised by two moms, went to college, got a music degree, and ended up here."

"Hey, is it different having two moms instead of a mom and dad?" Francis asks. Fred shrugs.

"Meh. It's pretty much the same as far as I can tell. It's basically The New Normal but gender-flipped."

Dallas looks around and notices that everybody else has already introduced themselves. "I'm last? Okay! I'm Dallas McCartney, from Houston, I'm 19 years old and I am an awesome lesbian." She accentuates the last descriptor with a flip of her hair and a sultry look. It causes Harry to burst into fits of laughter across the room. "Yeah, my parents wanted me to get into music because I was focusing so much on sports, but I found the guitar and haven't gone back since."

_Blanche_: It's so cool just to be here, but now that I've heard everyone's stories it's really hard not to want us all to win. Everybody is so passionate about the show, and we all have a story.

"Yo, has anyone checked the dorms yet?" Fred asks.

"We should do that," says Arthur. "I need to have a good bed if I'm going to be sleeping here for the next few months."

Everybody gets up, some of them stretching and others heading straight for the dorm rooms. Jing and Dallas throw open the door to the girls' dorm first. There are six queen-sized beds on the edges of the room, which is painted pale green with hot pink music notes adorning the walls.

"Awesome! It's so...spring-y!" Jing can't really find a better way to describe it. Livie sneaks passed and flops onto the bed that has her suitcase beside it. Harry slinks through and joins her. The two of them recline on the bed.

"Oh man, it's so comfy" the boy moans.

Dallas stretches out on her own bed. "How are we even supposed to sleep? I'm way to excited."

Meanwhile, Jamie and Luke enter into the boys' dorm. It's in a similar style to the girls, except it has yellow walls with blue music notes. Jamie nods in approval. "Ooh, very nice, very nice. I'll enjoy sleeping here."

Francis slinks beside them. "I was never a big fan of the color yellow." Jamie grins as he turns to the Scottish boy.

"Hey, I'm gay so you have to trust my judgement on interior decorating."

Luke starts to laugh at the comment and walks over to sit on his bed. "Dude, these beds are gonna start emptying out pretty soon." He frowns, but soon enough Blanche has snuck into the room and jumped onto the bed across from him.

"Well, we better make this week count!" she whoops and hollers as she starts to jump on the bed.

Arthur stands in the kitchen with Lila. The two of them are checking out the fridge. "This place is stocked to the limit." He grabs two cans of Sprite from the fridge, passing one to his companion. After cracking his open and taking a long sip, he turns to Lila. "So, You probably get this a lot, but -"

"What color is your voice?" She finishes the sentence for him. He snorts. "Yeah, everybody asks me that as soon as they find out about me being a synny. Also it's like a really hot pink."

Arthur seems rather surprised at that. "Huh. Not what I was really expecting."

Rebecca and Fred have continued snooping, and are standing outside where the lounge chairs and exercise equipment is.

"Aw man, I wish we had a pool." Rebecca says as she wanders around. Fred lies down on one of the lounge chairs.

"Well, we can always just, like, hvae a hose fight or something if we need to cool down." He laughs as he makes himself more comfortable. Suddenly there's a crack of thunder, making Rebecca jump.

"What was that? Is it raining?" Sure enough, droplets of water begin to shower form the sky, forcing Fred and Rebecca to cut their sunning session short and flee back inside the house. The sky darkens as the storm hits.

"It never rains on reality TV!" Fred shouts. "This isn't Survivor!"

As everybody explores the house and make new friends, the main door opens and a familiar figure steps through holding a binder.

"Hey everybody!" Robert calls, catching the attention of the few contenders who were hanging around in the common room. Rebecca lets out a cry of excitement and runs over to give him a hug, which he returns.

"Robert's here!" Fred shouts to the rest of the house, and soon enough all the contenders are running down he halls and gathering on the couch again to listen to what Robert has to say.

"Well, it looks like you've all settled in pretty well here, which is good. I'd like to officially congratulate you all for making it onto The Glee Project!"

The kids erupt in a chorus of cheers and applause. Robert continues as they quiet down. "This is a huge opportunity for all of you. As you know, for the next twelve weeks you will be competing against each other to not only win a seven-week guest appearance on Glee, which also includes a concert deal, recording contract, and jumpstarting your acting or music career."

_Fred_: I do some quick math in my head and I realize that with twelve of us and twelve weeks, there's gonna be at least one week where nobody goes home. This is great, because it means Ryan wants to make sure that he picks the right person to win this season.

"This competition has made famous people like Damian McGinty, Samuel Larsen, Blake Jenner, and by the end of this experience one of you will have reached the same level as they have. Each week you will be performing a homework assignment for me and a special guest star from the show, and then whoever wins will get a special standout moment in the music video following. Now for our first theme, it is..." Robert pauses for effect. "...like always, we're starting with Individuality!"

The kids cheer.

_Jing_: I know I'm going to ace this one, because I know I'm my own person and very unique.

Robert continues talk smile and talk. "This week will be all about showing your true self to our guest, and being able to stand out from the crowd. The song you will be performing for your homework assignment is...'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' by Michael Jackson."

Several contenders cheer, but others look nervous at taking on a song from such a huge pop star in their first week. Arthur himself looks very pleased.

_Arthur_: I am pumped for this song because I'm a huge MJ fan, and I know I can sign this song.

Robert opens his binder and begins passing out sheets of paper. He also hands a CD to Luke. "These are your lyrics and the song and the song itself. You will have to decide amongst yourselves how to divide up the lines, and choreograph your own routine to go along with it. You'll be performing this tomorrow in front of me and our special guest, so make sure to bring your A-game." Robert then takes his leave as the contenders wave goodbye. As soon as he exits the door they begin to rifle trough the lyrics and determine who sings what.

"I kinda want One." Fred says as he stares at the sheet.

"Really?" Blanche sounds surprised. "You're gonna take the first part?"

"Yeah, I think I can cover it pretty well."

"I just don't want Nine or Ten." Lila comments. "I never got the vegetable part."

"I'll take it?" Francis says from beside her. He doesn't really sound as sure of himself. "Uh...yeah, I'll take Nine."

"I call dibs on Twelve!" shouts Jing. Jamie looks displeased.

"I kinda wanted Twelve..." he says. Jing looks up at him.

"Okay, we'll rock-paper-scissors for it." She holds out her hand and Jamie does the same. Jing pulls scissors, Jamie pulls paper. He sighs dejectedly.

"Alright, I'll take Four if it's not already taken..."

The parts are chosen and everyone gets up for choreography. Rebecca takes the lead on this one.

_Rebecca_: I wanted to choreograph our number because I've actually taken dance classes before, so I have a bit of an advantage over the others.

"Okay, since there's so many of us right now it should be something simple, like we do a sidestep and a snap, and a sidestep and a snap for the first part. Like this." She does the move while humming the first part, and it is fairly simple. "And like, whoever's singing we'll just kind of give them space for a little solo."

"Ooh, wait, I got an idea." Harry walks up to the front. "How about we put Lila on this side and Luke on that side...and then when they sing their part we do a spin...and then we're like 'yeah yeah'" On the 'yeah yeah' he sways away from where he positioned Lila. "And then wed do the opposite for Luke."

"Yeah, I like that." Rebecca nods.

**HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN'**

All of the contenders are sitting and talking int he choir room, but they quiet down when Robert walks in.

"Okay everybody, welcome to your first Homework assignment!" The kids cheer. "This week is all about being yourself and standing out from a crowd. You've prepared a song to perform for our guest mentor."

A figure is seen from the waist down walking down the hallway to the choir room.

"Your first mentor is a staple of the show. He's been in the choir room from the start, and is possibly the most important member of New Directions."

The figure is shown from the waist up, clad in a vest and holding a music book.

_Livie_: We're all waiting for the mentor and we have no idea who it could be. First they had Darren, and then Lea, so of course they're gonna choose somebody important.

The figure opens the door, and the contestants cheer as Matthew Morrison walks through the door.

"Hey everyone!" he calls over their cheers. He walks over to stand beside Robert.

"As you all know, Matthew Morrison plays Will Schuester on Glee. As the club's leader he himself has to make sure that all of the kids in New Directions are able to stand out from one another."

"Well, technically that's your job." Matthew snarks. "It's great to be here guys, I've heard so much about you and I'm really excited to see what you can do."

"Alright. You all prepared Michael Jackson's 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' for us. So, Matthew, woud you like to do the honors?"

Matthew laughs. "Sure. Okay everybody, from the top!"

The kids laugh as they move the chairs out of the way and get ready to perform. The lights dim as they get in position.

The lights flare as the music starts. Everybody strikes a quick pose on the first three beats, then it gives way to the singing as they sidestep and snap.

Fred:

I said you wanna be startin' somethin'

You got to be startin' somethin'

I said you wanna be startin' somethin'

You got to be startin' somethin'

Fred doesn't do much other than go along with the planned choreography.

Lila:

Too high to get over (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're too low to get under (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're stuck in the middle (All: Yeah, yeah)

And the pain is thunder (All: Yeah, yeah)

Lila hops down from the riser she was on onto the floor, and bops her body to the music.

Luke:

Too high to get over (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're too low to get under (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're stuck in the middle (All: Yeah, yeah)

And the pain is thunder (All: Yeah, yeah)

Luke's solo has a lot of machismo and fist-pumping.

Jamie:

I took my baby to the doctor

With a fever but nothing he found

By the time this hit the street

They said she had a breakdown!

Jamie has a very energetic performance above the waist, but does his best to not move his legs very much except when he goes back into the crowd.

Rebecca:

Someone's always tryin'

To start my baby cryin'

Talkin', squealin', lyin'

Sayin' you just wanna be startin' somethin'

Rebecca's solo is very sweet, and matches her slow, innocent moves.

Dallas:

I said you wanna be startin' somethin'

You got to be startin' somethin'

I said you wanna be startin' somethin'

You got to be startin' somethin'

Dallas is the complete opposite, flaunting her body and bringing all of her jazz raspyness to the lyrics.

Livie:

Too high to get over (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're too low to get under (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're stuck in the middle (All: Yeah, yeah)

And the pain is thunder (All: Yeah, yeah)

Livie is a completely different person from the shy girl the other contenders are used to. her voice is huge. She stands at the top of the stairs and makes big motions with her arms.

Harry:

Too high to get over (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're too low to get under (All: Yeah, yeah)

You're stuck in the middle (All: Yeah, yeah)

And the pain is thunder (All: Yeah, yeah)

Harry sticks close to the others' choreography, but adds in some of his own moves and flare. Matthew nods with approval.

Francis:

You're a vegetable

You're a vegetable

Still they hate you

You're a vegetable

Francis moves his body a bit, but doesn't do much during his solo.

Blanche:

You're just a buffet

You're a vegetable

They eat off of you

You're a vegetable

Blanche similarly doesn't do much in the way of dancing, but makes up for it with a lot of attitude.

All:

Yee-haw!

The group all jumps down from the stairs as the shout, leaving a gap open for Arthur to fill.

Arthur:

Lift your head up high

And scream out to the world!

I know I am someone

And let the truth unfurl!

He raises his arm into the sky to emphasize the lyrics as he struts down the stairs. Jing appears behind him.

Jing:

No one can hurt you now

Because you know it's true

Yes, I believe in me

So you believe in you!

Help Me Sing It!

She goes halfway down the stairs before she begins to shimmy her hips to the music.

All:

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

Ma ma se, ma ma se ma ma coo sa!

The group break into freestyle, moving among one another and dancing their own way for the last few bars. On the last line they all freeze in a pose. As the music fades Matthew and Robert both applaud them heartily. After a few minutes to bring all the chairs back together, they sit and await their commentary.

"Well, that was great!" Robert says with a smile. "Matthew, what did you think?"

"I think you are all amazing, and I can honestly see any of you joining us in that choir room next year." Matthew smiles. "Let me see. Jamie, you were pretty good but you didn't move very much below the waist, and I don't if it was because of your prosthetic or if you were uncomfortable, but that's definitely something you can work on."

_Jamie_: When Matt said that I needed to get more comfortable with my leg I totally understood, because even after all this time I still get a bit self conscious about it; so I'll definitely work on it for the music video.

"Francis, you seemed to be a bit uncomfortable when you were singing. You sounded great, but there wasn't much personality in your solo." Francis gives a small nod, and it looks like he expected such commentary.

"Harry, you impressed me. You worked your own personality into all of the moves and that really stuck with me, especially during your solo."

Harry smiles broadly. "Thanks" he says happily.

"Jing, you were standing out for me the entire number, not just your solo, and I think you really managed to exemplify the atmosphere of the song." Jing smiles with pride.

"And Livie, you were really fun to watch. Not only did you bring a lot of force and emotion to your solo, but one thing I noticed was that you were smiling throughout the entire number." Livie is surprised that she's getting such commentary.

"Okay, Matthew, now you have to pick a winner for the Homework Assignment." Matthew grimaces at this prospect.

"Well it's a very hard decision, but I have to go with...hmm...Livie."

The other kids cheer as Livie jaw drops with joy. "Oh my gosh, thanks!" she cries with victory. Robert claps as well.

"Congrats Livie. You will receive a one-on-one mentoring session with Matthew later today, as well as a stand out moment in the music video, which is..." He turns to Matthew to announce it.

"'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen!" Matthew shouts excitedly. Most of the other kids cheer, some of them just smile.

"The theme for the video is first day of school." Robert Explains. "You guys will be getting off the bus, exploring your classes, and at the end you will all meet up in the theatre and celebrate being together after the long summer vacation."

_Luke_: I'm not the biggest fan of that song? Like, I'll try my best and all, but I've never really been able to get into it is all.

"You guys have a big day ahead of you. First you'll be heading to do vocals with Nikki Anders, and then choreography with Zach Woodlee. Tomorrow you'll begin shooting with Eric White."

Matthew waves to the contenders. "Alright everybody, I'll see you later!" The other contestants wave goodbye to him as he exits


	5. Individuality II

**Wow, the last chapter is super long and this one is fairly short in comparison...I have no idea whether they'll even out or not in the future. I'm just going to try to write them at the pacing I think best matches the show.**

**EDIT: I added some more meat to the choreography section. Woo retcons!**

* * *

After that exciting homework assignment, the contestants return to the living quarters and are able to hang out a bit before heading off to meet Zach and Nikki. Dallas and Fred are talking to each other while sitting on the couch.

"It's crazy that we've never seen each other before." Dallas says as she reclines back. Fred shrugs.

"Well, Houston's a big city." Dallas nods in agreement. "But still, it would be neat if we had known each other before the competition. You know, have a friend or something."

"Well we're totally friends now." Dallas smiles at him. "So anyways, how do you think you're gonna do in the video?"

"I dunno. I've never really shot anything like this before, but it can't be too hard."

Blanche walks in and sits across from them. "Hey guys. What're we talking about."

"Music video" Dallas says, turning to the new girl. "Do you have like a strategy or anything?"

"Huh, not really. I did a modeling video once, but that was like a year ago and it was completely different. I didn't necessarily have to act or anything in that one so I might as well not even compare it to this."

"Well, I would say that it's best just to wing it. I mean, they're going to be basing it off of us mostly, so we shouldn't really have a problem fitting into the scenario."

"Are you good at improv?" Blanche asks.

"I'd like to think I am" the other girl replies.

**CHOREOGRAPHY WITH ZACH AND BROOKE**

As soon as the kids enter the dance studio they all rush towards Zach, he shrieks in mock terror as they group hug him.

_Blanche_: Zach is _perfect_. He is literally a perfect human being.

_Zach_: Me and Brooke are back and we're ready to get the ball rolling.

"Alright, so for when you guys are entering the school and walking around it you'll have lots of room to freestyle. The main dance routine is in the auditorium when you all come together."

The kids line up and Zach leads them through the steps.

"So you step one, two, pah pah pah, around, and pow, bidow bidow..."

The steps are more advanced than what they did during the Homework Assignment, but a majority of the kids catch on, but some are having difficulty. Jamie himself is slower on the uptake for the leg movements, as expected, but he powers through it. Lila and Fred are paired with each other for a lift and both are exceedingly and hilariously terrible. Fred struggles to lift her, and her arms fly about wildly.

"Oh no! Oh crap oh crap!" she shouts as she flails.

"Abort mission! Abort mission!" Fred calls as he sways between laughing and grimacing. Zach's face as he watches shows how shocked he is that neither of them do a face plant on the ground. In other news, Francis seems incredibly uncoordinated in picking up any of the dance moves.

"You doing okay?" Zach asks him as he stumbles to the side.

"Yeah, I'm getting there" Francis replies. He certainly sounds determined.

_Francis_: Because of my dyspraxia I find it difficult to pick up on choreography, but once I get it drilled into a few more times it can usually, y'know, click.

Brooke takes Francis aside and goes over the steps with him. After a few missteps, Francis is able to execute them to the best of his ability.

"Did I get it?" he asks eagerly.

"You got it!" Brooke replies happily. Francis beams and high-fives her. Arthur and a few others cheer him on from the background.

**VOCALS WITH NIKKI**

_Nikki_: It's my first day working with the contestants for the music video, and I'm anxious to see how they do. We have a very talented group this season, so things should go well.

Luke is the first one to enter. He waves to Nikki as he grabs the headset.

"Hey Luke. Are you ready?"

Luke shrugs. "As I'll ever be. Never been in a studio before..."

"Alright well just put the headphones on, you'll be able to hear yourself and the music playing."

Luke nods okay, then puts them on. "Got it."

Nikki starts the music, and Luke waits for his part as he holds the lyrics in front of him.

"Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe?"

Nikki stops the music. "That was okay. You need to work on the attitude of your voice though? This is supposed to be a cheerful song, and you sound very..."

"Gruff?"

"Yeah."

Luke nods, but he has a frown on his face, which Nikki can see.

"Do you want me to play the vocal lead-in too?"

"Yeah. Yeah that'd be great." Luke takes a deep breath and swings his arms a few times before walking back up to the microphone and nodding. Nikki plays the music again.

"Hey! I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number. So call me maybe!"

The music stops. "That was better," Nikki comments, "but we should try it just once more." Luke nods in agreement, but look dissapointed.

Next up, Fred walks into the booth and puts on his headphones. "Hey Nikki!" he says as he does so. She smiles back from her room.

"Hi! You ready?"

He smiles excitedly. "Yeah, let's get started." Nikki nods and begins playing the music. Fred nods along and when it reaches his part -

"Before you came into my life I missed you so bad, I missed you so bad, I missed you so, so bad!" Nikki smiles as he sings.

"Very nice Fred!" She shoots him a thumbs up. "We'll do another one just to be sure, but I think you hit it!"

_Fred_: It's a great feeling knowing that I got my lines done in one, but I don't want it to seem like I'm cocky or anything.

As Fred leaves the recording booth, everybody else is sitting in the waiting room around the cheese lamp. "How's it go?" Rebecca asks.

"Pretty good. I think I may have gotten it on the first try?" His voice doesn't sound boastful, but his face gives away how happy he is. Luke can only nod distractedly.

While the others wait, Livie slinks into the studio.

"Hello Livie! How are you today?"

"I'm a little nervous," she says with a weak smile, "but I feel pretty confident."

_Livie_: I was the homework winner, and I got to have a mentoring session with Mr. Mathew Morrison.

Flash back to the choir room, where Livie and Matthew sit across from each other holding the lyrics. Matthew is singing the main line, while Livie sings the backup parts of her standout. After they finish she gets to picking his brain.

"So how would you recommend I try to stand out?"

"Well it's all about attitude. I mean, when you were performing for the homework you were big and loud and confident, and most importantly happy."

Livie nods. "It's just, this week we're supposed to exemplify our true selves, and I'm not normally a big and loud person unless I'm performing."

Matthew nods. "Right. Well, bring elements of that into your performance. Be calm and collected when you're not in the forefront, and then when it's time for your standout moment you just have to...blossom."

Livie smiles. "I think I know what you mean."

"Right?" Matthew smiles along with her. "And don't forget to bring that smile that I saw you wearing earlier."

"Gotcha."

In the present, Livie is recording her vocals in accordance to Fred's solo. "Hard to look right...at you baby...yeah yeah _yeah!_" At the end her voice gets very big and belt-y. Nikki is pleased.

"Wow, that was very impressive! It looks like your mentorship paid off?"

Livie nods excitedly. "Oh, yeah, for sure."

_Nikki_: There were a few speed bumps, but at the end of the day I think everybody gave it their all. Now we just have to hope that everything can come together.


	6. Individuality III

**And another new section! Let's get these kids interacting some more. Also, I added more meat to the choreography section in the previous chapter, so if you haven't yet check back to see if you missed anything.**

* * *

Luke is in the kitchen drinking a soda. Livie is sitting on the counter near him, swinging her legs in the air.

"So how'd you do?" she asks.

Luke shrugs. "I don't know. I kind of struggled with the attitude of the song."

_Luke: _I know that it's only been a few days into the first week, but I can't shake the feeling that I might be in the bottom three tonight.

Livie tries to cheer him up. "Hey, it's only the first week. I mean, I'm sure everybody is going to have trouble with stuff. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to redeem yourself in the video shoot?"

"Yeah, well you don't have to worry at all. You won the spotlight."

Livie shakes her head. "Yeah, but that just means I have more chances to screw things up. We just need to be optimistic about it though."

Luke nods.

In the girls dorm are Lila, Jamie, and Rebecca. Rebecca is talking. "Okay, I figure I'll be the one to ask this - what's your favorite episode?"

"Hmm..." Lila cocks her head to think. "I would say Props. That was a fun episode."

"That one was so funny!" Jamie adds from the other bed. "With Finn and Puck just snuggling for like half the episode!"

"I know, right! They should do another one like that one day."

"Hey, maybe one of us will be in it?" Rebecca says with a grin. The other two smile with her - of course everybody in the house is excited about the prospect of getting on the show.

"Honestly, I've thought about being on the show ever since it started" says Jamie. "Just...imagine being abel to be seen by all of those people and all those fans and make such an impact on their lives. I wanna be that, y'know? I want to be a role model."

Lila nods. "Totally, I totally get that."

_Lila:_ I think me and Jamie, and probably a few other contestants really want to get on the show so that we can make a difference. So many of us have stories that other kids can relate to, and I know I want to be able to spread the word about synesthesia.

"I know it might be early," Rebecca continues, "but I could see any of us on the show right now."

In the courtyard outside, Harry and Fred are shooting hoops while Arthur reclines on a chair to the side.

"So," Harry says, dribbling the ball about, "Any girls you got your eye on?" This prompts a laugh from Fred.

"Really? You're already scoping out the chicks?"

"What's wrong with that? There's always a chance for another Chaylin!"

_Harry:_ I know that all of the other people here are my competition, but that's not going to stop me from getting closer to some of the girls. If it grows into something more...well, I really wouldn't mind that.

"I've seen you around the house, man." Arthur says from the sidelines. "You've been putting the moves on every girl in the house.

"Have not!"

It turns out he has. Earlier that day, Jing was making a sandwich in the kitchen when Harry walked in. "Hey, is there enough to share?" he asks with a coy smile on his face. Jing takes one look at him and rolls her eyes.

"Wow, way to be subtle Romeo."

"He even tried flirting with Dallas!" Arthur says. Fred bursts out laughing.

"Seriously dude? Did you forget that she was a lesbian?" Fred has to lean against the wall in order to support himself.

"In my defense...yes. Yes I did." Harry hangs his head in shame. As if on cue, Dallas walks out into the courtyard.

"It's totally true. You asked me if everything really was bigger in Texas." While the other boys groan at the lameness of such a line, Dallas grabs the ball from Harry and tosses it through the basket.

"C'mon Arthur, get up. Two on two, we can take 'em."

"No, that's a terrible idea. I am, like, the least athletic person on the face of the Earth."

Harry picks up the ball and passes it to him. "You've gotta at least try, man!"

Arthur completely fails at catching the ball. He gets up, stumbles over to where it's located, then trots over to the other three.

_Arthur:_ I'm really not that sporty, but I've honestly never had anybody just offer em to join them or anything. I'm the shy one who doesn't talk to people so it's really nice to have others warm up to me this quickly.

Arthur attempts to toss the ball through the basket. It veers to the left and falls short.

"Nice try, nice try" Harry says as he goes after the ball, trying to sound encouraging.

Francis, Jing and Blanche are sitting together in the boys dorms.

"So what was harder for you today, vocals or dancing?" Jing asks. Francis sighs.

"Dancing..." He shakes his head. "I mean, yeah I have an 'excuse' per se, but it sucks how much slower I am than you guys at learning."

"Hey, don't feel so down on yourself" Blanche says as she shuffles over to face him. "You weren't the only one struggling I saw."

"Oh my god, did you see Fred and Lila?" Jing starts to laugh. "I don't want to sound mean, but the two of them together is just like...bad news."

Francis nods. "That's true - I didn't end up almost dropping somebody on the ground. But Blanche, you're like a pro, aren't you?"

Blanche smiles softly. "Well I don't want to brag, but I did pick up a few moves during my pole dancing training."

_Blanche: _Honestly, I think I have quite a few advantages over the other contestants, but Glee isn't about being better than other people, and I don't want to come off like that.

"I hope I get to see your pole dancin' skills one day." Francis says. Jing gasps, and Blanche smacks Francis on the arm as he laughs. "I didn't mean like that! I didn't want it to sound so dirty!


	7. Individuality IV

**I'm back! Woo! Happy New Year everybody! Now let's get this video shoot done.**

* * *

**VIDEO SHOOT WITH ERIK**

The contestants are all gathered in a green room near the set of the music video shoot. In walks Erik White, to the cheers of everybody present.

"Hi everybody. My name's Erik White, I'm the music video producer for the show. I've worked with a lot of big names like Christina Aguilera, T-Pain, Mary J. Blige, and of course all of the other Glee Project videos in past seasons."

_Francis:_ Having Erik White as our music video director is the coolest thing ever. I mean, everybody who's mentoring are just huge in their field of business and completely professional, and it's just really great that we're surrounded by so much talent.

"So, we've got no time to waste, let's shoot this thing!"

The first scene involves everybody getting off the school bus. The contenders are dressed in their outfits to reflect their personality - notably, Harry and Dallas are both wearing letterman jackets, Luke is in leather, Arthur is in dark colors, and Lila is very colorful.

"Everybody gets off the bus, and you're all excited for it to be the first day of school" Erik calls as they all wait inside the bus. "Livie, you'll be singing your first line when you hop of the bus behind everybody else."

"Got it!" she calls from the back of the bus. The cameras start rolling, and all twelve of them come piling off the bus. Livie gets off and begins walking towards the camera lip synching to her part. She isn't acting big or boisterous; her expression is calm and quiet - and rather hopeful.

"Cut!" Erik calls. Livie is nervous for a brief moment, but Erik smiles and so does she. "Good work!"

_Livie:_ I was actually really nervous to shoot today, but once he got started I calmed down, and I think that my session with Matt helped me out _loads._

The next scene is with Lila. She and Erik are standing in the school's art room with the rest of the crew. Zach and Robert are watching as Erik is explaining the shot to her.

"So you're going to walk in as you sing your part, and just play around with what's in here." Lila nods. "really just do what seems natural to you, because we want you to be demonstrating your own individuality."

"Right. Yeah. Okay, let's do this!"

The crew begin filming. Lila walks in as she lip-sings her part. Unfortunately, she doesn't really do much else beyond that, instead opting to sing most of it jut standing in the room. Erik shakes his head.

"Okay, let's try that again. Try to be more animated Lila, alright?"

Lila nods, but she looks a tad more nervous than before. They try again. This time as she walks in she trails a paintbrush across one of the canvases as she enters. Beyond that it's mostly the same.

"It seems like she's getting nervous with the camera there." Zach comments. Robert nods.

"It's like that spark and energy that we saw in her before is completely gone." The two nervously watch as Erik tells her to try one more time.

After that, the crew moves out to the football field where there are many extras running about in football gear.

"This scene is going to involve Harry and Dallas" Erik explains to the two contenders in front of them. "Harry will sing his line first, then pass the ball. Dallas will catch it and then sing her line."

"Got it." Harry says. He and Dallas share a fist-bump before running out to opposite ends of the field. Harry messes around with the ball as he sings, tossing it in the air and catching it again, before tossing it over to Dallas. It goes long, though, and she misses it. Harry lets out a nervous laugh.

"That's fine, that's fine." Erik comments as he watches Dallas chase after the ball. "Try again."

They do, and once again Harry misses. Both he and Dallas are laughing it off. Zach and Robert observe from the sidelines.

"They really don't seem to be having problems aside from that" Zach says laughing.

_Dallas_: The shoot actually went really well for me, except that _Harry couldn't throw the f***in' ball!_

_Harry_: It's not my fault! The sun was in my eyes!

In her confessional, Dallas looks offscreen at the producer. _Dallas_: What was his excuse? The Sun? Oh please.

After those scenes have finally been finished (it took Harry eight tries to throw the ball before Dallas was able to catch it) the crew moves into the Library, where Francis and Jing are about to shoot their scene.

"So we're just dancing through the stacks of books?" Francis asks as Erik stands before the two of them.

"Yep. Francis is going to come down this one side, then we're going to shift to Jing coming down this aisle. So the two of you can meet up."

The two of them nod and take their places. Francis begins, and while he lip synchs very well he doesn't do much other than walk past the stacks. "Cut!" Erik shouts. Jing frowns from the other aisle, obviously peeved that Francis is already screwing up.

"Francis, buddy, you've gotta give a little more energy than that." Erik seems to loom over Francis.

"Okay." Francis replies meekly. He goes back to the start and...doesn't fair much better. Erik shakes his head.

"You have to give us something Francis. Anything. Let loose a bit, okay?"

"Alright." Francis takes a few deep breaths and swings his arms around, trying to calm down and get in the zone. Jing stands on the other side of the stacks impatiently waiting for her cue to come. Unfortunately for her, it does - and she's not ready. Her lines play over the speakers and she quickly begins to sing along with them, but it's too late and Erik has to yell cut once again. Jing looks really embarrassed.

_Erik_: Jing must have gotten complacent or just plain bored while we were working with Francis, because she was not prepared at all for her part to come on. When you're in this kind of business you always need to be on your mark; you can't get lazy if you're going to be on camera in a matter of seconds.

Francis walks over to Jing while the crew resets for the beginning of the shot. "Hey, don't worry. It was just a fluke."

Jing brushes him off. "So embarrassing" she mutters. She looks incredibly pissed off.

The final scene takes place in the theatre. All of the kids line up and, when the music starts, they begin to dance the steps that Zach taught them the day before.

"They're actually doing very well" Zach observes as he and Robert watch from the sidelines.

"I think this might actually be the first time the kids have been able to learn the dance steps right off the bat" Robert replies with a smile.

_Zach_: Me and Robert were very surprised by how good the kids were at learning the dance steps. Normally we need several takes before we're on the same page, and even though we did do a few takes here there wasn't anything really...major that we had to work on. Even Jamie and Francis, who have disabilities that would interfere with their dancing abilities, pulled off decent performances.

"Livie, this is your stand out moment!" Erik calls from where he's sitting. Livie takes note mentally and, when her cues occurs, runs to the front of the stage and spreads her arms wide as she sings her big note. As it fades and others take the stage she dances backwards, pumping her arm in the air. Erik doesn't comment, but he nods approvingly from where he is sitting.

_Robert_: At the end of the day, there were a few hiccups, but everybody seemed to do very well at the end.

**INDIVIDUALITY MUSIC VIDEO: CALL ME MAYBE**

A school bus pulls up in front of a high school. As the doors open, music begins and a big group of teenagers pile out of the bus. The last one out is Livie, who steps off with a smile and a bright look in her eyes.

Livie:

I threw a wish in the well,

Don't ask me, I'll never tell

I looked to you as it fell,

And now you're in my way.

Cut to Arthur, who sings as he grabs a soda from the vending machine. He mimes using the bottle as a microphone.

Arthur:

I'd trade my soul for a wish,

Pennies and dimes for a kiss

I wasn't looking for this,

But now you're in my way.

Cut to Lila entering an art room, grabbing a paintbrush and sliding it against a nearby blank canvass, to the ire of one of the art students there.

Lila:

Your stare was holdin',

Ripped jeans, skin was showin'

Hot night, wind was blowin'

Where you think you're going, baby?

On her last line she ruffles the hair of a nearby male student. Cut to Harry on the football field, tossing the pigskin around while he sings.

Harry:

Hey! I just met you

And this is crazy!

But here's my number,

So call me, maybe?

He throws the ball, and we follow it until it's caught by Dallas.

Dallas:

It's hard to look right

At you baby

But here's my number

So call me, maybe?

She holds the football up to her ear, acting like it's a phone. Cut to Luke standing on the bleachers checking out some passing girls as he sings.

Luke:

Hey! I just met you

And this is crazy

But here's my number

So call me, maybe?

The football suddenly lands in his hands. He causally tosses it over his shoulder. The camera pans to Jamie sitting on the bleachers nearby, clearly checking out Luke as he sings his own lines.

Jamie:

And all the other boys

Try to chase me

But here's my number!

So call me, maybe?

On the last line he jumps up and jogs offscreen, with a clear implication that he's following Luke. Cut to Francis strutting down one of the aisles in the library as he sings his part.

Francis:

Before you came into my life

I missed you so bad

I missed you so bad

I missed you so, so bad...

The camera pans over to Jing, who does the same, but more animated.

Jing:

Before you came into my life

I missed you so bad

And you should know that

I missed you so, so bad...

Francis meets her, and shows her his phone. We cut to Dallas and Harry also staring at one of their phones, and Lila and Arthur doing the same thing. We see a glimpse of the text that they're all reading. "Come to the Auditorium! Quick!" They all rush down their, and are greeted by the other contestants. Several in the background begin dancing with each other. Fred and Livie stand in front, and Livie gets a lift from Fred. Fred clearly struggles with the move, but gets her up.

Fred:

It's hard to look right, (Livie: Hard to look right)

At you baby, (Livie: At you baby!)

But here's my number

Fred:

So call me, maybe? (Livie: Yeah, yeah yeah!)

Livie belts the notes, spreading her arms wide in celebration. She backs up, fist pumping in the air, as Rebecca and Blanche get in the front and begin their part of the choreography.

Rebecca:

Hey, I just met you

And this is crazy (Fred: Crazy)

But here's my number (Blanche: Maybe!)

So call me, maybe? (Fred: Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Rebecca and Blanche:

And all the other boys

Blanche:

Try to chase me

But here's my number

So call me, maybe?

The organized dance dissolves into a great big mob of friendship as everybody hugs close and celebrates being back together.

All:

Before you came into my life (Livie: Before you came into my life)

I missed you so bad (Livie: I missed you so so bad!)

I missed you so bad (Livie: So bad!)

I missed you so, so bad...

All:

Before you came into my life

I missed you so bad

I guess you should know that

Livie:

So call me, maybe?

The bell rings, and everybody looks around before immediately scattering to their different classes around the school. Livie is the last to get to her class, room 301, put before the door closes behind her she smiles and winks at the camera.

* * *

"Alright, that's a wrap!" Erik says. The contenders cheer and several of them high-five at a well-done day's work.


	8. Individuality V

**CALLBACKS**

The contenders stand at attention on the stage. All of them are clearly nervous. Before them stand Nikki, Zach, and Robert. Robert's face is grave.

"Alright guys, this is the callback stage. Every week three of you will be placed in the bottom three, and will have to perform in front of Ryan Murphy. After that we will deliberate, and I'm afraid that one of you will be leaving the competition." He takes a breath - it's clear that this is his least favorite part of the competition.

"Before we announce who's been called back," Zach begins, "I just wanted to make it clear that you are all great performers and singers."

Nikki nods at this statement. "This isn't just a competition, it's a learning experience. Even if you were only here for a short time, I hope you can take away the things you've learned and apply them for the better."

"Alright. The first person called back is...Livie."

Livie breathes a sigh of relief. The others don't appear to be too surprised by this. After all, she did win the Homework Assignment.

"Livie, you brought so much life and joy to the shoot and really showed your true colors today" Robert says with a smile. "For that you have easily earned the first spot on the callback list. You can return to the dorm."

Livie runs off happily.

Nikki addresses the rest of the contenders. "Arthur, Dallas, Rebecca, Blanche, Harry, Fred, and Jamie." As each name is called the contenders look towards Nikki with a mixture of hope and fear. "You are all also called back." The seven of them collectively relax at once, and walk off of the stage happily. Jing, Francis, Luke, and Lila are the only ones left onstage.

"Jing." Zach says, beginning with her. "You performed really well in the homework assignment." She manages to crack a smile at that. "However, during the video shoot you seemed to get distracted while waiting for your cue."

"I know, it was really unprofessional" Jing says with conviction. Even at this stage she hopes she can change the judges mind with her plea.

"Yes, but it still happened. You need to be on the ball all the time in this business." Jing nods rapidly as Zach turns to the boy beside her.

"Francis, you struggled with the homework assignment and the video shoot today. You simply didn't have the kind of energy that we were looking for this week."

Francis doesn't say anything, instead only nodding and accepting the criticism.

Robert turns to Luke. "Luke, you did well in the video shoot, but you struggled with the vocals today."

He addresses Lila last. "Lila, you were always this big bright light in the performances before today, but during the video you seemed to lose that spark." Lila can only nod in agreement. None of these four want to be in the bottom, but they also know that for three of them it is inevitable.

"It was very hard to figure out who would be in the bottom tonight." says Zach. "Luke. You will be performing for Ryan tonight." Luke sighs as his fate is revealed.

"Francis" Nikki says. "You will also be performing for Ryan later tonight." Francis nods, he knew he'd be in the bottom.

Robert turns to the two girls. "Lila. You are safe." Lila gasps with surprise. She quickly hugs Jing for support before running offstage. "Jing, that means that you will be performing for Ryan tonight in a last chance performance."

_Jing_: I'm kind of mad at myself for getting stuck in the bottom three. I mean I want to blame Francis, but I made such a rookie mistake and...ugh...I feel awful.

"Alright, so let's talk about your performances." Nikki says. She's smiling now - at least now the kids will be able to show Ryan what they're really made of. "Luke, we wanted to give you something right up your ally. You're going to be singing 'London Calling' by The Clash."

Luke breaks out into a huge smile and pumps the air. "Yes!" His excitement earns some laughs from Francis and Jing. "I was hoping I could do some Clash while I was here!"

Zach turns to Francis. "Alright Francis, your song is going to be 'Not Over You' by Gavin DeGraw."

Francis smiles. "I like that song!" he says.

"Jing" Robert says, turning to her, "Your song is 'Funny Honey' from _Chicago_." Jing grins.

"I love _Chicago_!" she says happily. The judges smile - they're glad that everybody is comfortable with their song choice.

"Alright. You three will be performing for Ryan tonight, so make sure you all practice hard."

The contestants nod and bid farewell to the judges for now, heading off to the separate rooms to rehearse their last chance performances.

**TWO HOURS BEFORE PERFORMANCE**

The three enter their separate dressing rooms and prepare to face the music - or provide it, as it were. Luke breathes deeply, calming his nerves.

_Luke_: It totally sucks that I'm in the bottom three this week. I know that a screwed up, I should have tried to adapt to the music video song more, I just really hope that my performance tonight will be able to win Ryan over.

"London calling! To the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down. London calling! To the underworld. Come out of you're cupboard, ya boys and girls." He's getting really into the song. "Yeah, this is going to work out great." He seems quite confident now that he's back in his element.

Francis is a bit more nervous. He shakes his hands out and cradles his head for a few minutes. "Come on Francis. Get it together. You can do this."

_Francis_: This didn't come as much of a surprise to me, being in the bottom, but I'm still nervous. I wasn't pulling my weight this week, and if I make one wrong move then I could be the first person sent packing.

Francis attempts to add some individuality and personality to the song...mainly he tries to make sure he can hit all the notes. "Not over you. yOu. Ugh, that doesn't sound right. Not over YOu." He smiles. "Better."

Jing is pacing around in her room, trying to focus her scattered thoughts.

_Jing_: I feel like I shouldn't be here because I am one f the most talented people here. I made one mistake. But I need to look on the bright side. I need to use this performance to make Ryan see how amazing I am and get onto his good side.

"He ain't no sheik, that's no great physique, and lord knows he ain't got the smarts." She smiles - she was certainly dealt an advantage this round, considering Roxy is her dream role. Fittingly, when she goes to pick out her wardrobe for the performance she picks a pink slip similar to the one Renee wore in the movie. In Luke's room, he grabs a leather jacket and some torn up jeans. Francis keeps it simple - a polo and jacket and jeans. As the hour approaches, the three of them run over their performances one final time, work out how they'll manage the choreography, and wish themselves luck.

**LAST CHANCE PERFORMANCES FOR RYAN - DON'T BE LATE!**

The great and all powerful Ryan Murphy arrives and takes his seat between Nikki and Robert, with Zach to Robert's left. "Alright," says the showrunner, "tell me who we've got today."

"First up is Luke." Robert says, leaning over. "He was having difficulty in the recording studio."

"He was telling us that it was out of his comfort zone, and that's why he had problems." Nikki adds. Ryan nods.

"Well, he'll have to be able to adapt if he plans on getting on the show."

Luke walks out as the music begins. He grabs the mic and pulls it out of it's stand.

"Hi. I'm Luke Hiroshi-Miles, and I will be singing 'London Calling' by The Clash.

London calling! To the faraway towns,

Now war is declared and battle come down

London calling! To the underworld

Come out of your cupboards ya boys and girls

The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in

Engines stop running, the wheat is growin' thin

A nuclear error! But I have no fear,

'Cuz London is drowning and I

Live by the river!

Oow! Ah-ah-ah-ah-oow!"

Luke pauses to headbang during the instrumental.

"The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in

Engines stop running, the wheat is growin' thin

A nuclear error! But I have no fear,

'Cuz London is drowning and I

I live by the river!

Now get this!

London calling! Yes, I was there too

And y'know what they said? Well some of it was true!

London calling! At the top of the dial

And after all this, won't you give me a smile?

London calling...

I never felt so much alike..."

Luke thrusts the mic into the air as the song finishes. The judges applaud quite a bit.

"So Luke, I hear that you were having some trouble with your vocals?"

Luke nods. "Yes, the song...it's not really my style and I know that's something I need to work on. And I totally will, y'know, if I get the chance." He trails off, obviously hinting at him staying, and Zach laughs.

"Well I think your chances have gone up after this performance. I do like you Luke, and I hope I can see more of you." Luke smiles as he sees himself out.

"Alright, next up is Francis. He struggled throughout the week, but he wasn't terrible. He just..."

"He didn't seem to give his all?" Ryan asks. Robert nods.

"Exactly."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking when I saw him in the video. Okay, bring him out."

Francis walks onstage and takes the mic in his hands. "Hi. I'm Francis Smith, and I will be singing Gavin DeGraw's 'Not Over You'."

The music begins and Francis' face becomes one of regret. It's different from the expression he was wearing before, though - he's in character now.

"Dreams, that's where I have to go

To see your beautiful face anymore

I stare at a picture of you and listen to the radio

Hope, hope there's a conversation

We both admit we had it good

But until then it's alienation, I know

That much is understood"

Francis takes a breath, then puts his soul into the number.

"And I realize

If you ask me how I'm doing

I would say I'm doing just fine

I would lie and say that you're not on my mind

But I go out and I sit down at a table set for two

And finally I'm forced to face the truth,

No matter what I say I'm

Not over you

Not over you

So until then...

If you ask me how I'm doing

I would say I'm doing just fine

I would lie and say that you're not on my mind

But I go out and I sit down at a table set for two

And finally I'm forced to face the truth,

No matter what I say I'm

Not over you

Not over you

Not over you

Not over you"

He sings the last line softly. The judges are all very impressed by him.

"Where was this during the video?" Nikki asks surprised.

"I don't know. I think I just got...nerves? This is all so new, and I'm just getting the hang of it."

"Uh, yeah, I'd say that you've adjusted quite well to everything." Ryan says with a smile. "I got the feeling, though, that you weren't giving your all during the shoot."

"I will, though." Francis says with determination. "I can give a hundred and ten percent from now on. I am ready for this. I can earn this."

"Okay, well, if you come back then that's what we'll need to see."

Francis leaves, a bit more confident than he was before his performance.

"The last person singing is Jing."

"Oh, I remember her" Ryan says as he consults the profile. "She was very talented."

Robert nods. "Well she is, but she had some trouble during the shoot. She missed her cue. She didn't seem to be paying attention during her part"

Ryan frowns. "That doesn't sound very good."

Jing walks out onstage smiling and dressed to the nines. "Hello. My name is Jing Moqi and I will be performing the song 'Funny Honey' from the musical _Chicago_."

The music begins as she gets into character.

"Sometime's I'm right

Sometime's I'm wrong

But he doesn't care

He'll string along

He loves me so

That funny honey of mine

Sometime's I'm down

Sometime's I'm up

But he follows 'round

Like some droopy-eyed pup

He love me so

That funny honey of mine

He ain't no sheik

That's no great physique"

Jing pauses, and her face becomes angry.

"Lord knows, he ain't got the smarts

Now, he shot off his trap

I can't stand that sap

Look at him go

Rattin' on me

With just one more brain

What a half-wit he'd be

If they string me up

I'll know who brought the twine

That scummy, crummy, dummy

Honey of mine!"

She belts the final note. Once she finishes, all of the judges applaud loudly. Jing smiles and gives a little curtsey. Ryan looks over his notes.

"So Jing, tell me what happened today?"

Jing sighs. "Well, I was waiting for Francis to finish filming his part of the shot, and I must have gotten complacent because I missed my cue."

Ryan nods somberly. "See, that kind of behavior could be a huge problem in the future."

"I know, it was a total rookie mistake, but I promise you it won't happen again." Jing looks at him earnestly, almost begging with her yes not to be sent home. Ryan can only level his eyes at he and gaze into her soul.

"Okay, I believe you. I just hope you get the chance to prove it to me." The performance clearly finished, Jing leaves the stage. She's the only one who is more nervous than when she came on.

* * *

"Alright, now we need to figure out who's going home." Robert says as the four judges huddle together. "Let's start with Lucas."

"I like him" Ryan says immediately. "He's got a lot of heart and a lot of character, and when he's in his own style he is very good."

"But," replies Nikki, "If he gets on the show he won't necessarily be in his style all the time."

"Exactly, which is why I'm not sure whether we should hold on to him for a while longer."

* * *

"I gave an awesome performance." Luke says in the dorm room. "I mean, I could still go home because I'm sure we all did great, but at least if I go home I know that I went out with a bang." Despite this, he still looks terrified at having to be the first one to leave.

* * *

"What about Francis?" Zach asks. "He struggled throughout the whole thing."

"That is true..." Ryan says as he looks over the boy's profile. "But like he said, he could have just been having a bad week. Then again, he might have a bad week next week and the week after."

"But he was very good tonight" Robert adds, trying to vouch for Francis. Ryan only nods at the comment.

* * *

"I honestly don't know how safe I am." Francis is holding his head in his hands. "He's told people they were great before, but honestly I was having issues at every stage of the game today. I really think it could be me." Livie lays a comforting hand on Francis shoulder, but it doesn't help much.

* * *

"And Jing." Ryan pulls out her profile and looks over it. "I really don't want to have to send her home this early just because she is so talented."

"But there's the issue of her professionalism" Zach says, and Ryan nods.

"I didn't think that that would be a problem with her, but if it is something that continues..." Ryan shrugs, indicating what the others are all thinking.

* * *

"They just kept on saying that I was unprofessional, which is what really gets to me, you know?" Jing's face is red, like she's been crying. "I'm fine with leaving, obviously this is a competition and I'll be at risk, but I just really don't want to go home for something that I could have prevented.

* * *

"This is really hard, because we've only known them for a single week." Ryan rubs his temples. "I don't want to send any of them home yet, I want to see if they can get better and get over their problems."

"And I feel that all three of them could be on the show" adds Zach. Ryan sighs and looks over the profiles one last time.

"Alright. You know what I think we should do?" The judges speak for a few moments, but we don't get to hear them until after.

"You're sure?" Robert asks. Ryan nods.

"It's for the best. It's the only decision I'm truly comfortable with."

* * *

Robert enters the dorm room looking like somebody has just died. "Alright everyone, the callback list is up." He leaves and allows the bottom three to embrace each other and those that are safe for next week, as this could be the last time they see them.

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

The bottom three make their way through the choir room to the callback list.

_Luke_: I don't want to go home yet. I've already made friends here, and I know I can do better if I stay another week.

_Francis_: I have this terrible feeling that it's me going home, and I just hate that I can't do anything about it.

_Jing_: I know that I have so much more to give in this competition, and I just don't feel like I deserve to be eliminated so early.

They arrive at the callback list. Jing gasps, clasping her hand over her mouth in shock.

Francis begins to tear up, and looks down trying to keep it together.

Luke sees it and immediately smiles, and begins celebrating his safety.

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba (Ooh~oh)_

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba(Ooh~oh)_

**Called Back:**

Livie

Arthur

Dallas

Rebecca

Blanche

Harry

Fred

Jamie

Lila

Luke

Jing

Francis

**Congratulations!**

**You're all called back!**

The other contenders enter the choir room to find all three of the bottom kids standing together, smiling. "We're all safe!" they shout when they come through the door, and everybody bursts into cheers.

_Luke_: I can't believe we're all here for another week. Nobody was eliminated in the first round. It's just...it's such an amazing feeling.

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba (Ooh~oh)_

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba(Ooh~oh)_

Luke, Francis, Jing:

There's nothing you can say! (Contenders: Nothing you can say!)

Nothing you can do! (Contenders: Nothing you can do!)

There's no other way

Everybody:

When it comes to the truth

Luke, Francis, Jing:

So keep holding on (Contenders: Keep...holding on)

'Cause you know we'll make it through

We'll make it through

* * *

**At long last, we finish the first round! Every body lives. Make sure to tune in soon for the next round, which is...**

**Tenacity!**


	9. Tenacity I

Arthur and Francis run up to each other and high five, then do a little victory dance.

_Arthur_: Me and Francis have basically become best friends over the short time we were here.

"U.K. bros! Back in action! Another week!" Francis sings it as he and Arthur celebrate. Blanche watches from the sidelines.

"Wow, dorks" is all she can say at the sight of the two of them. She grabs a bag of chips and begins to munch on it. Soon Jing walks by and nabs a few chips for herself.

_Jing_: Words cannot describe how happy I am that we are all here for week two, but it does mean that I still have eleven people I need to beat in order to win this thing.

Luke and Livie are sitting in the girls' dorm. "So, are you glad I'm back?" Luke asks. Live giggles.

"Of course I am! I wanted everybody to come back!" She picks up a pillow and throws it at him, making him laugh.

"I just need to kick it up a notch this week." He says, sitting up and holding the pillow in his lap. "If we have adaptability this season it's going to be brutal."

Livie just smiles. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

_Livie_: I might have developed a bit of a crush on Luke. I know, it's stupid, but he's got such a nice smile, and he's so nice, and _ugh_."

The conversations are cut short by Robert Ulrich walking through the door to the dorms. "Hey everyone!" he calls.

"Robert!" Blanche and Jing shout from their spot on the couch. The call echoes throughout the house and everybody runs to meet him in the living room. Robert smiles as he sees all twelve of the season's competitors together for another week.

"So first of I want to congratulate all of you for making it past the first week!" This is greeted by a lot of cheers and pats on Luke, Francis, and Jing's back. "Me, Ryan, and the other judges decided that it was too early to send anybody home, so we've kept you all for another week in order to be certain we're making the right decision.

"Now then, it is time to move on to this week's theme. And that theme is..." the suspense is killing them Robert, just tell them! "Tenacity!" The kids are a bit surprised, thinking that such a theme would be later in the competition.

"Tenacity is a basic skill to have for any entertainment career" explains Robert. "You need to be able to put up with all sorts of physical and mental exhaustion in order to get the job done, and you have to do it all without getting frustrated or giving up."

_Blanche_: I think that I would be awesome at Tenacity because I'm not a quitter, and I do have a lot of courage and stamina in me.

From her expression as she listens to Robert it's clear that she's trying to determine the best way to go about winning this theme.

"Now then, your homework assignment is a song all about not giving up even after going through terrible things. It's 'Part of Me' by Katy Perry."

Most of the group cheers. Dallas, however, looks a bit conflicted.

_Dallas_: I'm not a huge huge fan of Katy Perry, but Luke nearly got sent home because he couldn't get into the style of the assignment last week, so I guess I'm going to have to power through.

Robert hands out the sheet music and the CD so that they can practice. "Tomorrow you're going to perform this in front of me and your special guest mentor. I'm sure you guys will appreciate him, as he's gone through situations just as tough as the one you're in now." Leaving them with that tiny little hint, he exits and leaves them to divvy up the lines.

"So, I feel like this assignment is going to be more about the emotion than the skill?" Harry frames the sentence as a question, not entirely sure of himself on that front. "Like, we have to look tough and all that."

Jamie grins. "Dude, let me see your tough face." Harry turns to him and puts on said face. "Ooh, yes, very tough."

"Alright, what's yours Jamie?" Harry challenges. Jamie scowls, and Harry starts laughing. "You look like an angry puppy!" Jamie rolls his eyes in exasperation.

"Stop flirting with each other!" Fred shouts, waving them over. "We've gotta sort out our lyrics!"

Rebecca and Blanche lie outside in the sun, shades draped over their eyes and looking like the epitome of relaxation.

"So who do you think the mentor is going to be?" Rebecca asks, turning to her side to face Blanche.

"I have no idea. But I really hope we get to meet some of the past contenders." She grins. "Oh man, if Damian McGinty comes in I would flip my lid."

Rebecca smirks. "I would like to see Mr. Blake Jenner walking through that choir room door. That's just a lot of very fine-looking man right there."

Blanche smiles and turns over to her side. "Say..." she pauses, not sure how to word it. "What's it like being a single mom?"

Rebecca frowns. "Well, it can be pretty tough at times, obviously. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to sacrifice so much just do raise Rosie." She catches herself, realizing the implications. "I mean, I wouldn't trade her for the world, but...I always have to rely on people, and I just wish I had gotten more time to establish myself and be able to support myself. I just feel like a burden on the rest of my family, y'know?"

Blanche grimaces. "Not really. With my family it was the opposite - they tried to make me feel like I was burdening them even when I was just trying to live my life. Sometimes I'm still not sure what my place is in the world, but there's not much else I can do but keep on searching."

Rebecca takes Blanche's hand and holds it tight. "We'll be fine. _And _ we're gonna get so far in this competition together."

"Oh hells yeah!"

The two girls laugh with joy at their friendship.

**HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT - PART OF ME**

Once again the choir room is packed full of a dozen gossiping young contenders. Rumors fly about who their mentor could possibly be this time. Robert's entrance causes the noise to die down.

"Hello everybody" he greets them, trying to keep their attention away from the door that will soon be opening. "As you know, this week is all about Tenacity, and the ability to push through all the exhaustion and pain in order to reach your goal. Now then, your guest mentor this week certainly knows a lot about Tenacity."

A figure walks down a hallway. A football helmet is in one hand.

"Just like all of you he's had to fight against the odds in order to make a name for himself."

The figure is also clad in a letterman jacket.

"He is also one of our newest cast members..." It's a good thing Robert had nothing else to say after that, since the screams of delight from the girls (and Jamie) would have drowned him out. The cause of them is Blake Jenner, who smiles broadly and waves to his successors as he crosses the room to stand beside Robert.

"Everyone, please Blake Jenner, the winner of the previous season of The Glee Project."

Blake eyes up the contenders, wondering which one will be his co-star in a few weeks. "Hi everyone! It's so cool to be back here and I'm so glad that I can see you guys do all the cool stuff that I got to back when I was competing."

_Lila_: Blake Jenner! Oh my God, just look at him! How am I supposed to focus when he's watching me?!

"Alright, now the contenders have prepared 'Part of Me' by Katy Perry to perform for the homework assignment."

Blake claps his hands together in anticipation. "Alright, let's hear it!"

The lights dim and everybody takes their position. Music begins. They're all lined up in a row, and as each contender sings, a spotlight shines on them.

Jamie:

Days like this I want to drive away

Jamie doesn't move, but his face is quite steadfast.

Rebecca:

Pack my bags and watch your shadow fade

Rebecca makes a 'shoo' motion with her hand as she sings.

Jing:

You chewed me up and spit me out

Like I was poison in your mouth

Jing sways as she sings. She looks confident, but more sexy than tenacious

Harry:

You took my light, you drained me down

But that was then and this is now

Harry crosses the stage as he sings looking directly at Blake and Robert as he does. Jamie and Rebecca walk towards the center and shout their lines!

Jamie and Rebecca:

Now look at me!

The two split, allowing Dallas and Luke to enter between them while the others begin dancing in the background. The two sing their lines to each other.

Dallas:

This is the part of me

That you're never gonna ever take away from me

Luke:

This is the part of me

That you're never gonna ever take away from me

Livie:

Throw your sticks and stones

Throw your bombs and your blows

But you're not gonna break my soul

As Livie sings she comically flexes her arms to show off how tough she is.

Fred:

This is the part of me

That you're never gonna ever take away from me

Fred points towards Robert and Blake, declaring his stoicism to them. Lila and Francis take center stage.

Lila:

Now look at me, I'm sparkling

A firework, a dancing flame

Lila gestures towards herself and makes 'bring it' hand motions.

Francis:

You won't ever put me out again

I'm glowing, oh woah oh

Francis squeezes his eyes shut and belts on the last part of his line, shaking his fist as he does.

Arthur:

So you can keep the diamond ring

It don't mean nothing anyway

Arthur shakes his finger as he sings, then is shoved aside by Blanche.

Blanche:

In fact you can keep everything

Yeah, yeah

Except for me

She also belts her note, seemingly trying to outdo Francis. As she holds it the others gather round her, taking positions of defense and toughness as they sing the final lines.

All:

This is the part of me

That you're never gonna ever take away from me

This is the part of me

That you're never gonna ever take away from me

Throw your sticks and stones

Throw your bombs and your blows

But you're not gonna break my soul

This is the part of me

That you're never gonna ever take away from me

The music fades. Robert claps and Blake cheers them on. After all the seats are in their rightful place, the judging begins. Robert turns to Blake. "Alright Blake, what did you think?"

"That was amazing guys, I am just blown away. I think you all easily captured the spirit of Tenacity, and no matter who wins the homework assignment you all did great. Now, then - Jing, you were good for most of the song, but during your solo you seemed more concerned with being attractive than tenacious." Jing gives a small nod, but mostly she's surprised at his comments.

_Jing_: I didn't think I was giving that vibe. I was just doing what felt natural.

"Harry, you looked great when you did your solo. Very passionate, very powerful, I just feel like you could have done..." Blake moves his hands about, trying to find the right word. "...something more." Harry frowns, but otherwise accepts the criticism.

"Francis and Blanche..." Blake smiles. "You guys I thought were really similar in your solos. You both looked defiant and seemed like you were really feeling the song. Both of you were great, just really great." The two of them, who are sitting beside each other, both give each other an approving look and high five.

"That said, I do have to choose a homework winner, and I'm going to go with..." Blake looks between Blanche and Francis. "Blanche."

Blanche, Jing, Lila, and Rebecca all squeal loudly.

_Blanche_: Blake Jenner oh my GOD I can't believe I get to have my own mentoring session with him!

The ear-shattering shrieks die down, and Robert manages to get a word in. "Alright, congratulations Blanche. You will get a private mentoring session with Blake as well as a stand-out moment in this week's music video, which is..." he turns to Blake once more.

"'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' by Diana Ross." There's scattered clapping, but it's drowned out by Jamie cheering in victory.

_Jamie_: I know I'm not super-super campy gay like Kurt, but I do love me some Diana Ross.

"The video is going to be a bit different from some of the other videos we've done" begins Robert. He grins evilly. "You're going to be shooting on location at a nature trail, and the premise of the video is that all of you are going on a big hike up a mountain."

There a few laughs, and a few moans of agony from the contenders at the prospect of having to do something so strenuous.

"As such, there will be no choreography with Zach this week, and you will all be going straight to vocals with Nikki."

Blake waves goodbye. "Alright guys, good luck!" The others bid him farewell as he leaves.


	10. Tenacity II

Harry is outside working out on the treadmill. Well, "working out" is a bit of an understatement - he's pushing himself as hard as he can and burning of a lot of energy. Fred comes out and sees him basically over-clocking himself, and is more than a little worried.

"Whoa dude, you okay?"

Harry slows down to a stop and turns off the machine, panting heavily. He grabs a nearby water bottle and sits down on the edge of the now still treadmill.

_Harry_: It's only been a few years since I was able to get my Bipolar symptoms under control, and part of doing that was staying on medication, and a strict schedule and exercise in order to keep myself stable. Now that I'm in a new place it's kind of throwing me for a loop and I'm trying really hard not to have an episode.

Outside, Harry manages to catch his breath. "I'm just..blowing off...some steam...Trying to...keep...my cool."

Fred sits down on a deck chair across from Harry. "Oh, right. Bipolar. I almost forgot, since you have it under control so much."

Harry takes another swig of water and swallows hard. "You just...it's hard to describe it to people. I would be fine one minute, and then all of a sudden I would be filled with so much anger and I just wanted to hurt people. Can you imagine how hard that is on a little kid?" He shakes his head. "I don't ever want to go back to that place again."

Fred walks over and squeezes Harry's shoulder. "You'll be fine, dude."

**VOCALS WITH NIKKI**

All twelve contenders are ready to go into the studio to record their vocals. Rebecca is the first to enter.

"Hi Nikki!" she shouts as she places the headphones on her ears.

"You ready to record Rebecca?" Nikki asks. Rebecca nods, flicking her hair out of her eyes.

The music starts playing, and Rebecca reaches her part. "Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry..."

Nikki nods. "That was good, but it seemed a bit tender. This week is all Tenacity, so we want to try for a stronger, tougher tone." Rebecca's expression clearly shows her mind trying to figure out how to get that kind of feel in her voice.

_Rebecca_: At first I wasn't sure how I was going to go about giving my voice that kind of...quality. But then I thought, well, I'm a mom and I'm always tenacious in my care for Rosie. If she ever called me or needed me I'd be there in a flash, so I just got that in my mind.

"Just cal my name, I'll be there in a hurry!" Her voice is much stronger in this rendition. Nikki claps.

"Wow, way better!" Rebecca smiles and gives a little curtsey.

Just outside the recording room, the other contenders are crowded together and discussing how well they think they'll be able to pull off the theme.

"Hey Arthur, how're you going to play it?" Dallas asks.

Arthur shrugs. "I don't know. I wouldn't call myself Tenacious so much as independent, or isolated." He sighs. "I suppose I could just act it out, but I don't know how well that would go over if it isn't fueled by genuine emotion. What about you Blanche?" She looks in his direction at mention of her name. "You had a mentoring session, did that help?"

Blanche beams. "Oh, definitely. Blake is so great!"

"And so sexy" Harry murmurs under his breath. Livie beside him discreetly snorts with laughter.

Flashback to the choir room, where Blanche sits with Blake Jenner.

"So what kind of, like, experiences do you draw from to bring that kind of Tenacity to your performance?"

"Well I think about the times when I was really struggling to get my acting career going." Blake runs a hand through his hair. "I basically dropped everything to come to LA and get into the business, and there were times where it seemed like I'd never be able to make it. But I knew that I had to power through those times in order to get where I wanted to be, and now I have."

Blanche smiles at him and nods. "So what I should do is think of a time when I was feeling vulnerable, and thing call on the emotions I used to pull myself out of that place?"

Blake nods. "Yeah! That's basically what I'm saying."

Back to the present. "No wind! Noooo rain!" Blanche belts her heart out on those lines. Nikki smiles with approval.

"Now that's what we're looking for!" she says, drawing a beaming smile from Blanche. "I think you nailed it!" Blanche does a little victory dance.

* * *

Back in the dorms, the Olympics are occurring.

Blanche, Luke, Fred, Dallas, Jing, and Harry are all dressed in their dance clothes and in the backyard, lined up against the wall and standing tensely. Jamie is standing on top of a table while the remaining contestants sit on the sidelines. Lines of tape are drawn across the entire backyard.

_Jamie_: Since we're gonna be doing a mostly physical video this week, we figured we should have a contest to see which of us is the most, y'know, athletic.

"Welcome to the first annual Glee Project Olypmics!" Jamie shouts from his perch. "Our first event: suicide runs!" The audience cheers. "Whoever is able to make it all the way to the end first wins! On your marks...get set...go!"

The athletes run to the first line of tape, then back to the start, then to the next farthest, and so on and so forth. The kids watching them compete cheer them on all the while.

_Jing_: I want to show all these other people that just because I was in the bottom last week does not mean I'm going to be a pushover.

It isn't long before Luke and Dallas take the lead in the event. Jing struggles to keep up, but after a few minutes it's finished.

"We have a winner!" Jamie shouts. He crawls down from the table and hoists Luke's hand in the air. "Luke Hiroshi-Miles!"

Livie cheers loudly for him. He tosses a smile in her direction. The next event has Fred and Dallas on the weight machines, prepared to do bench presses.

"Whoever can do the most reps in twenty seconds will advance to the next round!" Jamie calls from his announcer's table.

_Lila_: I chose not to compete because this way I can save my energy for the actual challenge, whereas these kids are all gonna be tired out when the time for the shoot comes.

The onlookers count down from twenty as Fred and Dallas pump iron as fast as they can.

_Dallas_: I am a natural athlete. I go to the gym a lot, so I had a clear advantage over Fred. Fred...I don't know, I think maybe he jogs?

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" Dallas and Fred stop. Fred basically rolls off the bench and flops onto the ground.

"You win" he groans as he lies on the pavement face-first.

"Our final event! Jumping jacks!" Jamie grins evilly as he says it.

"How many do we have to do?" Jing asks nervously.

Jamie turns to the non-participating contestants. "I don't know, what do you guys think?"

"Huddle!" Rebecca calls. The five group together and whisper, then separate. "We decide," Rebecca begins, "that you will have to do one hundred jumping jacks."

The other six groan. "Rebecca, how could you?" Harry asks as he stumbles over to her. She just giggles and sits back down with the other half of the contenders.

"Ready, set, GO!" Jamie cries from his stand, and the six begin to jump up and down as fast as they can, all of them counting out loud so that nobody thinks they cheat.

_Arthur_: I wasn't really paying attention to who was winning or losing during the whole Olympics thing, it was just fun to watch them all squirm.

"Ninety eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!" Dallas shouts loudly. She pumps her fist in the air as the other five she was against either sit down on the ground or lean against the wall.

"Awesome! Congratulations Dallas. We don't have a medal, but we do have a crushed soda can and some string we found in the drawer."

Jamie presents her the makeshift medal, which she accepts proudly. Fred walks past her.

"Good job Dallas. I'm going to go take a nap and possibly die."

"Okay, have fun!"


	11. Tenacity III

**The chapter/segment split is a bit wonky for this week; I didn't feel like I had enough pure socialization to constitute an entire chapter; more of the important parts and character development occur in the video shoot. But this theme is still gonna have five parts! Mwahaha.**

* * *

**VIDEO SHOOT WITH ERIK**

The contenders all arrive at the site of the shoot and look upon it in awe. They were expecting maybe a forested trail up a hill, but this is the opposite. Towering rock formations jut out of the ground at angles, and there is hardly any foliage except for in the surrounding areas. The trail itself winds it's way between the rocks and surely goes up to the highest one.

_Harry_: We knew that we were going to be hiking up a trail, but none of us expected a place like _this_.

Erik steps out in front of them. The contenders are rather surprised to see him dressed in hiking gear as well.

"Morning guys! Welcome to the Vaquez Rocks Trek!"

The cast halfheartedly cheer.

"You might recognize this area outside LA from such shows as _Little Miss Sunshine, Blazing Saddles, _and even _Star Trek_. It's also the site for your next video shoot. I know it looks pretty imposing, but don't let that scare you. Everybody will be climbing to the top of the trail." As the contenders stare at him in shock, he goes on. "All twelve of you, plus me, Zach, Robert, and the entire film crew will be going up with you and shooting parts of your climb up the trail. Blanche, as the homework winner you'll be leading the charge."

"Awesome!" Blanche says with a grin.

The crew sets all of their stuff up and prepares for the long shoot. Zach and Robert look on as everybody stretches and gets ready.

"So who do you think will do a good job?" Zach asks.

"It's hard to say yet. I think that Blanche will be able to pull it off nicely as the homework winner. I've also got a good feeling about Dallas and Luke, and the kids who are athletes and are used to this kind of thing."

Zach nods. "Right, but we're not looking for physical prowess. We want to see who will be able to keep on pushing themselves after they start getting tired."

"Exactly. That's why I feel that it'll be interesting to see who is able to give it their all this week."

"Alright everyone, we're gonna start moving out now!" Erik calls the crew and cast to attention, and the mass of people begin walking down the trail.

**20 minutes later...**

The small caravan is still walking and showing no signs of stopping.

_Fred_: So we start walking up this trail, and we keep walking, and keep walking, and I don't even know how much time has passed but we haven't shot anything during the actual hike; and the sun is out and there's no shade so everybody is sweating and already getting tired out.

Erik holds up a hand for them to stop. "Alright, this looks like a good place to shoot the first few scenes. Jamie, Francis, Lila, you're up."

The three he called upon come to the forefront. "Alright, Jamie will be coming around the corner here, then joined by Lila here. Luke, you'll be dropping down from this ledge right here."

"Oh, do I have to, like, climb it?" Francis asks as he looks at the small shelf of rock jutting out from the side of the wall. Erik only nods. Francis takes a deep breath. "Alright, let's do this."

"Excellent. And everybody, remember to keep your energy up! You can't look like you're exhausted during this thing."

Everybody takes their places. Those not involved in the shoot are ushered back around a bend in the path, while Francis clambers up onto the ledge and perches on the edge, ready to jump down on his cue.

"And...action!"

Jamie rounds the corner and holds onto the straps on his pack as he sings his line. As soon as he finishes, Lila walks up beside him and the two walk up the brief incline in the path. Francis jumps down beside them, but he misses the landing and stumbles. Erik yells cut, and walks up to Francis.

"Alright, you tow did great, keep doing what you're doing. Francis, the only thing is that you've gotta stick that landing, and also try to come in a bit faster." Francis clenches his fists and nods as they try the take again. Jamie and Lila fulfill their requirements again, and this time Francis comes in at the right place.

"He's still shaky," Robert comments.

"Sure, but he's not acting tired at all. Francis is not an athletic guy, but he's taking this whole thing in stride." Zach replies.

Higher up the path, a large rock formation, surely reaching ten feet into the air, stands before the contestants.

"Shade!" Jing cries out. She and several others run towards the shadow cast by the stones and recline against a rocky wall. Erik turns to Fred and Livie.

"Alright you two. For this shot you're going to be on top of that pile of boulders."

Fred eyes the pile nervously. "Do we have to get up their ourselves? Yeesh." He and Livie make their way to the pile and begin climbing. Fred takes a much more cautious approach, looking for the easiest way up. Livie, on the other hand, just climbs until she reaches the top.

"Hurry up Fred! We're wasting daylight!" Erik calls to Fred, but Fred still takes his time getting to the top of the pile, stumbling several times. Erik can only sigh and wait until the boy gets to the necessary position.

_Livie_: I felt kind of nervous for Fred during this thing. It's Tenacity week, you need to get physical and give it your all.

Erik claps his hands to get people's attention. "We're moving on everybody!" the crew gathers their things as the contestants try to keep their spirits up after such a grueling hike. Most of them are gleaming with sweat and don't look nearly as peppy as they did at the start. Jing in particular is rubbing her eyes.

"Are you running girl?" Rebecca asks. Jing sighs.

"I put on makeup today, I wasn't thinking. I didn't even think it'd be this hot out." She turns to face the other girl. "How is it?"

Rebecca tilts her head. "Eh, you can barely see anything."

Blanche, Dallas, and Jamie are called over to a tall rock wall. "Okay, Jamie and Dallas, you guys are going to be lifting Blanche up and onto the part of the path that's up here." Blanche looks pleased at not having to lift herself up, but Erik must've seen her expression. "Blanche, you're still going to have to balance yourself here so that you can get to the top without falling over."

_Jamie_: I am a little concerned right now. Because of my leg I don't really have much lower-body strength, and something really physical like lifting a person could be problematic. It really doesn't help that right now Blanche does not look as fresh and alert as one would hope in this situation.

Dallas and Jamie crouch down so that Blanche can walk to them and get her feet in both pairs of hands, allowing them to boost her over the edge. Not even two seconds after lifting does Blanche lose her balance and have to step off.

"Sorry! Sorry. I'm just a bit tired." She gets on again, but doesn't make it much higher. She tries again. And again. And...again. Zach and Robert have to watch the footage grimly.

"I was hoping she'd be so much better at this" Zach says disheartened.

"It's like she's lost the...spirit that she had in the Homework assignment" adds Robert, to which Zach has to agree with. The girl is quickly running out of energy. Finally, after at least a dozen takes, Blanche is able to get a good shot in and makes it to the top of the ledge. Dallas and Jamie are panting heavily.

At long last the cast and crew reach the end of the trail. The antics of the shoot have taken quite a while, and there is a slight hint of twilight on the edge of the horizon. One look at Erik's face will tell you that he's concerned the sun will be setting before the job is finished. "Let's go people! Faster!"

Jing and Arthur are positioned on the top of another rock ledge, their task being to pull Luke and Lila up the cliff face and onto their level. Jing is to go first. However, her grip on Lila's hand is mediocre at best, and Lila can barely get off of her side of the ledge.

"Come on Jing, Lila's pretty light" Erik calls from behind the camera. "You can do this."

Jing grumbles and again tries to pull the other girl up, but it's quite clear that at this stage of the game her heart simply isn't in it. Even Lila looks like she's getting frustrated.

"We're running out of daylight, Jing."

"I'm just running out of steam, alright?"

At such a comment, Zach and Robert share a look of concern.

"This is Tenacity, you need to be able to push through this." Erik is having none of this today. After much scrabbling and gritting of teeth, Jing is able to pull Lila over the edge. As the crew move on to Arthur and Luke, Zach calls Jing over.

"Listen, I know you and the others are tired, but we all need to be able to keep our energy up for this."

Jing looks distraught at the fact that she was actually called out amongst the rest of the cast. "I know, I'm trying, and it's Tenacity so I - "

"F***!"

"Holy shit!"

Scattered shouts of shock and horror come from behind Zach and Jing, who turn to see Luke lying on the ground and a lot of blood on his shirt.


	12. Tenacity IV

Everybody soon crowds around Luke. Arthur stays on top of the ledge, looking down in horror - after all, however bad Luke is hurt it's his fault. He's certain everybody is thinking it, so he might as well too. Erik is by Luke's side as soon as possible. "What happened Luke? Do you need a medic?"

Luke sits up, clutching his hand. It's clearly where a lot of the blood is coming from, and those who manage a good look at it can see a fairly large gash running through it. "It's just my hand" he says, wincing. "My butt broke my fall." Luke lets out a small chuckle, and slowly but surely the mood starts to lift.

_Luke_: Arthur was lifting me and he slipped or I slipped or something slipped, and I started falling down, and I just kind of reflexively slammed my hand against the wall in panic and must have hit a rock jutting out of the cliff face.

Erik calls the paramedic over and Luke's hand is bandaged up. An extra, less bloodied shirt is brought in for him. Arthur is practically beside himself with shock. As soon as Luke is finished being treated for the wound, he motions for Arthur to come over.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I'm sorry -" Arthur stutters as he approaches, but Luke shakes his head.

"Now way dude, it's not your fault. I'm fine, okay? That's the important thing." He places a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder and squeezes, and Arthur lets out a sigh of relief.

Eventually the commotion is able to die down, and Erik approaches Luke. "Okay, we're running out of time and need to know if we can still do this or not." Luke nods, and he and Arthur move back to their original positions. This time Arthur maintains a death grip on Luke's hand, but even then the gash is too fresh and tender. Luke tries to place it against the rock to hoist himself, but winces in pain each time. Erik shakes his head.

"Okay, plan B."

_Arthur_: So what happens is we get Dallas and Harry to boost Luke off screen, and then through editing we make it look like I pulled him the whole way up. But at this point I'm glad he wasn't seriously injured or anything because I was honestly panicking through the whole thing.

After a long, painful, and exhausting day the cast and crew are finally able to get the last few scenes in the bag.

_Zach_: Despite the issues that came up a lot during the shoot, I'm really proud of a lot of contestants and I feel like they've all demonstrated Tenacity quite well.

**TENACITY MUSIC VIDEO: AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH**

As the opening notes play, a group of teenagers stretch, re-tie shoelaces, and prepare themselves for a harrowing trek up the Vasquez Rocks. Blanche leads the charge. Cut ahead, and Jamie steps out from around a bend in the path.

Jamie:

Ain't no mountain high

Ain't no valley low

Lila sidles up beside him, excited and energetic.

Lila:

Ain't no river wide enough, baby

If you need me, call me

Francis jumps down and lands beside them, skidding to the side.

Francis:

No matter where you are

No matter how far

Cut to Rebecca, who is jogging up an inclined path as she sings her line.

Rebecca:

Just call my name

I'll be there in a hurry

She ducks out to the left, revealing Harry who was jogging behind her.

Harry:

You don't have to worry

'Cause my baby, there

He turns and they head in the same direction. Cut to Livie and Fred standing on top of their rock.

Livie:

Ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough

Fred:

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from getting to you, now

During the short instrumental, there are clips of the other teens climbing rocks and running down paths. Blanche approaches Dallas and Jamie as the latter two stand before the rising cliff face.

Blanche:

No wind, no rain

Dallas:

Or winter's cold

Can stop me baby

Blanche and Dallas high five before Dallas crouches down to boost her up. She rises up to the top and easily, albeit shakily, steps off and onto solid ground.

Blanche

If you're ever in trouble

I'll be there on the double

Just sing for me baby

Cut to Jing, who successfully pulls Lila up and onto her level of the trail.

Jing:

My love is alive

Way down in my heart

Luke head and his bandaged hand pop over the top of the ledge and he hangs on as he sings.

Luke:

Although we are miles apart

If you ever need a helping hand

Arthur's hand reaches out and pulls Luke the rest of the way up.

Arthur:

I'll be there on the double

As fast as I can

Don't you know that there

The two pound fists before running to join the others for the last leg of the hike. The teens sing as they climb, and soon make it to the top of the mountain to see the wonderful view of Los Angeles.

All:

Ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from you

Ain't no mountain high enough

Nothing can keep me

Can keep me from you

Ain't no mountain high enough

Nothing can keep me

Keep me from you

They take in the view and heave deep breaths after such an exhausting day. Blanche excitedly turns around to face the group. "Alright!" she shouts excitedly. "Who's up for round two!"

The rest of the hikers groan and collapse onto the ground in a heap at the prospect.

* * *

"...and that's a wrap!"

With the final scenes shot, the sky turning orange, and the entire cast lined up at the highest point of the trail looking out over the landscape, the shoot can finally wrap. As soon as Erik declares this everybody cheers, even with their exhausted spirits. Even Zach and Robert are ready to get back to civilization.


	13. Tenacity V

**CALLBACKS**

The twelve contenders stand at attention on the callback stage, waiting with baited breath for Robert, Nikki, and Zach to tell them who made it to next week and who was eliminated. The three judges walk in front of the kids to make their announcement.

"Alright. So, this week was all about Tenacity." Robert begins. "You had to show your tenacious side by being able to power through physical and mental exhaustion without giving up or letting it show."

"Tenacity is one of the aspects of the show that's glossed over by a lot of people," continues Zach. "While we don't exactly go on hikes, we do spend much longer in dance rehearsal on the actual show than we do here. Add to that the hours of shooting needed to complete a performance scene or even a simple scene of people walking down the hall and you get a very exhausting day."

Zach nods back to Robert. "Now, some of you were able to demonstrate the theme extremely well this week. Others, well, you had a bit of difficulty."

"We're going to start with the person who we feel did the best job this week." Nikki says. Everybody's attention turns to her, hoping to hear their name. "The first person called back is...Luke."

Luke's eyes widen in surprise, and he slowly breaks into a smile. Nikki continues. "Luke, you probably had the toughest job out of everybody on the shoot because you sliced your hand open. But even after that you didn't give up, and tried your hardest to keep the shoot going. That is exactly the kind of spirit we're looking for."

"Thank you," Luke says as he quickly leaves the stage.

_Luke_: Last week I was in the bottom, and now I've gone straight to the top? This really couldn't get any better!

"The next person called back is...Arthur."

"What?" he sputters in shock. It elicits some giggles form the surrounding contenders. Nikki nods and goes on.

"You had a pretty tough time too. A lot of people would have been paralyzed with guilt after what happened between you and Luke, even if it wasn't your fault. However, you managed to pull yourself together fairly quickly for the sake of the video, and that's what counts. You'll be back for next week."

Arthur rushes offstage with a smile on his face, and once he's gone the air tenses up just a bit more - there are seven spots left to guarantee safety, but ten people standing there waiting.

"Livie, Lila, Jamie, Rebecca, Harry, Dallas, Francis." Robert states, looking at each person as he calls their name. "You are all also called back." The seven share looks of excitement as they leave, though, Rebecca does stop to wish Blanche luck before leaving. Blanche can only shrug in acknowledgement as the realization dawns on her that she is in the bottom.

Robert heaves a sigh. "Blanche, Fred, and Jing. Since there's only three of you I'm sure you're aware that you will all be doing a Last Chance Performance for Ryan."

"We felt that the three of you were the only ones who really had difficulty with this assignment," Zach states. "Fred, you seemed more concerned with not having to exert yourself than trying to get your scenes shot properly. Blanche, you were great in the Homework Assignment. However, you didn't seem to have any of that energy when it came to any of your standout moments during the video. Jing, you had a similar problem - you simply didn't seem to be exerting very much effort during your scenes, and it looked like you had run out of energy very quickly and were close to giving up."

The contenders take in the criticism, memorizing what was said and trying to think of ways to rectify it in the future, as well as hoping they can demonstrate it during the performances that evening.

"So, on to your performance songs. Fred, you are going to be singing 'Let Me Love You' by Mario." Fred twists his mouth but otherwise nods in acknowledgement.

_Fred_: I've never heard the song before. I think it might have been performed on the show at some point, but...I can't remember.

Robert turns to Blanche. "Blanche, you are going to be singing 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift." Blanche smiles when she hears what song she's received, and you can see it in her eyes that she knows she'll be able to do it justice.

Nikki looks at Jing. "Jing, you are going to be singing 'Open Your Heart' by Madonna." Jing nods happily, though her body language shows that she's still tense after being in the bottom once again.

"So, you three will have to perform these songs for Ryan tonight. Make sure you rehearse hard, because unfortunately at the end of the night one of you will be leaving the competition."

With those parting words, the three contenders head to their dressing rooms to practice as much as they can in the given time.

**TWO HOURS BEFORE PERFORMANCE**

Fred enters his room and goes straight to the headphones to listen to his song. After a few minutes of nodding his head to the beat he cracks a smile.

"Wow, that's like, pop-type boy band stuff. I wasn't expecting that."

_Fred_: Being in the bottom is rather nerve-racking, since no matter how well I think I'm going to do I could still end up going home. I just need to make sure I focus and give my all tonight.

Fred tries out just getting the lyrics right. "Baby, good love and protection, make me your sele~ection, show you the way love's...uh...shoot." He glances at the lyrics. " - supposed to be."

Jing groans as she enters the rehearsal room. "Back again." She rub her hands on her temples and tries to get in the zone.

_Jing_: I don't want to be here again. I need to figure out how to show Ryan that I deserve to be here, but at the same time I'm scared that I could disappoint him again and get sent home. I need to go big.

"Open your heart to me, baby you hold the lock and I hold the key!" Jing belts as hard as she can practically forcing emotion into the song. She shakes her head though - clearly she doesn't think it'll be enough.

If Jing is nervous, then Blanche is practically beside herself. She hasn't even began listening to the audio in order to prepare herself for her performance. Instead she is sitting in the chair and trying to refocus herself.

_Blanche_: I don't know how this happened. I mean, I was trying as hard as I could and I thought I would be fine because I won the Homework Assignment. So now I'm scared that I'm coming off as some kind of lazy girl and that's just not me!

Finally she composes herself and grabs the headset and lyrics. "And he's long gone when he's next to me, and I realize the blame is on me." Her voice is shaky, and she gulps trying to get her bearings. She repeats the line, and it's much stronger now.

As the time ticks on, the three iron out the details of their performances and try to reassure themselves that they've done everything they can and that they'll be able to survive the Murphinator. All three of them deem the outfits they're currently wearing acceptable to wear that night. The hour approaches and they make the final adjustments before being called out to perform.

**LAST CHANCE PERFORMANCES FOR RYAN - DON'T BE LATE!**

Ryan enters the auditorium flanked by Nikki and Robert, with Zach immediately behind. They take their seats in the middle of the audience and situate themselves. "So tell me who we're seeing tonight."

"Well," Robert begins, "this week was actually fairly successful, and the three we have in the bottom tonight are the only three who truly struggled with the theme. First up is Fred. He just didn't seem to be willing to push himself physically as much as some of the other contestants."

"Interesting..." Ryan muses as he looks over the small profile he has about Mr. Michaels. As he does, Fred himself walks out to the opening bars of his song. "Hi, my name's Fred Michaels and I will be singing 'Let Me Love You' by Mario.

Baby I just don't get it

Do you enjoy being hurt?

I know you smelled the perfume

The make-up on his shirt

You don't believe his stories

You know that they're all lies

Bad as you are, you stick around

And I just don't know why."

Fred takes the mic out of the stand and shimmies to one side, then the other, snapping his fingers and making it look just a little bit cheesier and boyband-esque. "If I was your man, baby you'd

Never worry bout what I do

I'd be coming home back to you

Every night, doing you right

You should let me love you

Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need

Baby good love and protection

Make me your selection

Show you the way love's -"

Fred stutters for a moment, but quickly catches himself. " - gonna be

Baby you should let me

You deserve better girl

Baby, We should be together girl

With me and you it's whatever

Hey! So can we make this thing ours?

You should let me love you

Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need

Baby good love and protection

Make me your selection

Show you the way love is gonna be

Yeah, let me love you" Fred ends with his arm extended towards the judges and a smile on his face. The performance is met by applause from his peers.

"Hello Fred." Ryan says coyly.

"Hello Ryan." Fred responds. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, thank you! I hear that you had some issues during the shoot."

Fred frowns. "Uh, yeah, it looks like it. I dunno, I probably could have pushed myself more during it."

"You had difficulty getting up the rock pile!" Zach calls. Ryan glances over at him.

"Yes, tell me about that. What was the issue there?"

"He had to climb up a big rock formation and spent, like, ten minutes trying to find the best route."

Fred looks down in shame. "I know, I really missed the mark there."

"You can't cause delays like that when you're on the set," Ryan chastises. "If you're given a direction you need to do it as soon and as best you can; you can't dilly dally."

Fred nods profusely. "I totally understand, and I won't let you down again."

"I certainly hope not." Ryan mutters. Fred leaves the stage, still not sure whether he's staying or not.

"Next we have Blanche." Ryan frowns when he hears this.

"Didn't she win the homework assignment?"

Nikki turns to Ryan. "Well she did, and she was great vocally in the assignment and in the recording studio, but then the shoot came and she lost all of that spirit that we had seen in her prior."

"That's too bad. Alright, let's bring her out."

Blanche walks out cheerily, exuding confidence. It would seem that the spirit she had supposedly lost during the music video has returned to her.

"Hello, I'm Blanche Montgomery and I will be singing 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift.

Once upon a time a few mistakes ago

I was in your sights, you got me alone

You found me, you found me, you found me

I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that

And when I fell hard you took a step back

Without me, without me, without me

And he's long gone when he's next to me

And I realize the blame is on me

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

'Til you put me down, oh

I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

And the saddest fear comes creeping in

That you never loved me or her, or anyone, or anything

Yeah!" Blanche holds the note as long as she can, showing off her vocal capabilities.

"Shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

'Til you put me down, oh

I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble." She ends the song with a look on her eyes that's a mix between strength and desperation. Ryan and the other judges applaud her. Once it dies down, Ryan addresses Blanche directly.

"So Blanche, tell me about what happened during the shoot."

Blanche grimaces. "Well, there was a part where I was supposed to be lifted up by Dallas and Jamie, and I wasn't able to keep my balance and stay stable. I went through a few takes before I was able to get the shot right."

Ryan shakes his head. "That's not very good. And you won the homework assignment; you should have nailed this. Did you just run out of energy?"

Blanche shrugs. "I guess? It was a really long hike, and by that point I was pretty drained."

Nikki has to say something at this point. "There were kids who had to do more than you and managed perfectly fine."

Blanche searches for words to reply with. "I...I'll do better next week, trust me. I can fix my mistakes."

Ryan looks at her with uncertain eyes. "Well, we'll have to see if you can make it there first."

Blanche leaves the stage looking a tad more shaken than she did before.

Zach turns to Ryan to speak "Now last up is Jing."

"Back again?"

Zach nods. "Yes, she didn't seem to have learned from last week. She still seems distracted and, well, just plain unprofessional."

"Okay, well, let's see if she can impress me again."

Jing walks onto the stage.

"Hello. My name is Jing Moqzi and I will be singing 'Open Your Heart' by Madonna.

I see you on the street and you walk on by

You make me wanna hang my head down and cry

If you gave me half a chance you'd see

My desire burning inside of me

But you choose to look the other way

I've had to work much harder than this

For something I want don't try to resist me

Open your heart to me, baby

I hold the lock and you hold the key

Open your heart to me, darlin'

I'll give you love if you, you turn the key

Open your heart with the key

One is such a lonely number

Ah, ah, ah, ah

Open your heart, I'll make you love me

It's not that hard, if you just turn the key

Don't try to run I can keep up with you

Nothing can stop me from trying, you've got to

Open your heart to me, baby

I hold the lock and you hold the key

Open your heart to me, darlin'

I'll give you love if you, you turn the key

Open your heart with the key." As she holds the final note, the music fades in the background. Ryan nods with approval and claps with enthusiasm.

"Well Jing, I have to say that that was a very top-notch performance."

Jing smiles at the comment. "You really think so?"

"I do. However, there's the matter of your performance in the video." Jing's smile falls as Ryan continues. "I've been told that you had issues with keeping up your energy and following direction. Even when I was watching the video you looked completely drained and simply out of it."

Jing shakes her head. "It was at the end of a really long day, and I was having trouble just keeping my eyes open."

"Everyone got tired, though!" Zach calls. "That was the point of the exercise, to show that you could push past the physical issues."

"I can, though!' Jing says, a little loudly. The desperation in her voice is audible. "I can show you how great I am if you think I deserve another chance."

"I want to believe you" replies Ryan. "I truly do, because I think you are very talented and it's the kind of talent that I don't want to waste. But I haven't seen enough form you to know whether you've earned another chance."

Jing nods okay and shakily heads off stage.

* * *

"So, now comes the time to send somebody home," Ryan muses as he looks over the notes he took with a frown. "So we'll begin with Fred."

"He's a very good singer," Robert says, "but I don't know if there's anything that jumps out at me about him."

Ryan nods. "He's fairly average. But then again, we might see him open up more in the coming weeks."

* * *

"I think I could have done more." Fred has stuffed himself into the corner of the sofa, flanked by the other contestants. "I could have pushed myself harder during the shoot, I could have given a better performance just now. It's just been gnawing at me this whole time."

* * *

"Blanche was quite good." Ryan states. "I was disappointed that she was int he bottom after she won the Homework Assignment."

"Blanche might be the most vocally talented person int he competition." Nikki comments. "But that voice will only carry her so far."

* * *

"At the end they talked about how the rest of you were able to keep up way better than I did, and that really struck a chord with me. What if they think I'm lazy? I don't want to be sent home because of something like that." Blanche sighs and snuggles closer to Rebecca.

* * *

"And finally, Jing." Ryan shakes his head. "I really don't want to send her home because she has an amazing voice and I would love to see her on the show."

Robert frowns. "What concerns me about her is that she doesn't seem to work very well in terms of the videos and taking direction in general."

Ryan sighs. "If that does continue then it is going to be a problem for all of us."

* * *

"I think it could be me. I don't think I showed them my best side, and whenever I try to defend myself I come off as rude and that's not the kind of person I am." Jing sniffs back tears. "I can't go home this early, I can't."

* * *

Ryan and the others rifle through the notes and profiles, trying to figure out who's journey to cut short. They're clearly having problems.

"Okay. I know for sure that they won't go home." Ryan glances at the other three, who nod in agreement. "Alright, so between these two...it has to be..."

Robert enters the room as the contestants are waiting impatiently for the results. A grim look is on his face as he looks at them. "Okay guys, the callback list is up."

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

As Robert leaves, the three bottom contestants stand up and prepare to face their fate. Their are hugs and whispers of 'good luck' all around. Blanche and Rebecca give each other a tight hug. Harry and Fred shake hands. Luke wraps a comforting arm around Jing for a brief moment before letting her go.

_Jing_: I don't want any of us to be sent home, and there's just a pit in my stomach thinking about what's about to happen.

_Fred_: I know I can do better if I get the chance, but I don't want it to come at the price of somebody else's chance.

_Blanche_: I want to be able to prove to Ryan and the others that I belong here, that I deserve this.

They reach the callback list. Fred cups his head in his hands and sighs heavily.

Jing covers her mouth and starts to tear up.

Blanche gasps and looks at the list in shock.

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba (Ooh~oh)_

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba(Ooh~oh)_

**Called Back:**

Arthur

Luke

Livie

Lila

Jamie

Rebecca

Harry

Dallas

Francis

Blanche

Fred

**Not Called Back:**

Jing

The tear's on her face begin to increase. Soon the other contenders enter and quickly go to her in order to comfort her, holding her tightly as she shudders from the tears.

_Jing_: Even though I'm g-going home I'm tak-king s-so much from this competition.

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba (Ooh~oh)_

_Ba ba ba ba ba_

_Ba ba ba ba ba(Ooh~oh)_

_Jing_: I know I'll be able to keep going and someday I'm going to reach my dreams.

Jing:

There's nothing you can say! (Contenders: Nothing you can say!)

Nothing you can do! (Contenders: Nothing you can do!)

There's no other way

Everybody:

When it comes to the truth

Jing:

So keep holding on (Contenders: Keep...holding on)

'Cause you know we'll make it through

We'll make it through

* * *

**And so we reach the end of another week! So sorry to see Jing go, but we're just getting started. Get ready for next week: Dance-ability!**


	14. Dance-Ability I

There's a bit more room in the dorms now that Jing has left, but despite their friend's elimination the rest of the contenders are fairly upbeat - after all, they're all still in the running for the spot on _Glee_, which is why they're all here. Blanche is sitting int he girls dormitory across from Livie.

"You miss her?" the younger girl asks. Blanche shrugs.

"Well yeah, obviously."

_Blanche_: Jing was one of my friends and it sucks that she had to get sent home, but I'm not going to dwell on that. I'm here for another week and that means that I can't mope around because of her elimination.

"I don't think any of us would want the others to quit just because our friends got sent home" comments Blanche as she examines the blanket by her hand. Livie nods in agreement.

Across the hall in the boys room, there's quite a different conversation going on.

"Do you have your eye on anybody here?" Harry asks Luke. Luke just scoffs.

"Dude, no!" He shakes his head. "Is all you think about getting a date?"

Harry shrugs. "Hey, it wouldn't hurt!"

Luke chuckles as he picks up one of the nearby pillows and chucks it at Harry's head. Harry tries to dive out of the way, and gets the cushion right in his face.

Out in the living room, several contenders are relaxing on the couch.

"What do you guys think it's gonna be this week?" Jamie asks those around him.

"Week three. Isn't that usually Vulnerability?" Francis asks, looking around to see if anybody agrees with him."

"I kinda hope it's dance." Rebecca says. Fred and Lila both shoot her a look.

"Nooooooo!" they groan at the mere thought of having to dance more.

_Lila_: I get that dancing is an important part of Glee, but I do not want to have to go through maximum booty camp.

"You just want dance because you're a dancer!" Fred laughs, pointing a finger at Rebecca. She just rolls her eyes.

"Uh, yeah! Of course I do!"

_Rebecca_: Dance-ability week is going to be my Magnum Opus, okay? I am a pro, literally.

"Yo, if we get Dance-Ability then the mentor has got to be HeMo" Dallas declares. "She's boss."

As the kids theorize on what could be on their plate this week, the door opens. "Good Morning everybody!" calls a voice that they've all familiarized themselves with. Fred and Lila call the others over as Robert Ulrich enters the living space, as usual holding the music and lyrics for the Homework Assignment. Once everybody has gathered together, he begins his spiel.

"Alright, so eleven of you are still here and in the running for a guest spot on Glee." The remaining contestants smile at this reminder. "This week is a theme that is present in every episode of Glee, and can be taken for granted by a lot of people as well. It is..." Pause for effect. "Dance-ability!"

Some of the kids cheer, but the others groan in horror.

_Fred_: I am not a good dancer, okay? I can barely shuffle my feet without tripping over them.

Robert continues. "Now, while we will be judging you in part on your dancing ability, we will mainly be looking at your ability to follow directions, as well as work together as a team. Not everybody on Glee is a professional dancer, but they are able to at the very least sync with the rest of the group and pull of very clean, and very entertaining numbers.

"Alright, now your Homework Song for this week is one of the most famous disco songs ever recorded. It's 'Disco Inferno' by the Trammps." They all cheer when they hear the song.

_Blanche_: I am crazy excited to do this song for our Homework Assignment. Amber Riley knocked it out of the park when she performed it on Glee, and I hope I can do her justice.

The music and lyrics are handed out to everybody for the practice. "As always, tomorrow you will be performing the number for both me and a guest mentor from Glee. They've told me themselves that they are excited to meet you, and they're also pretty popular for their dancing on the show..." With a smile, Robert leaves the kids to rehearse.

"I nominate Rebecca to choreograph this one." Arthur pipes up. Several of the other contenders nodded, and a few minutes later Rebecca is at the head of the group instructing them on how to pull of some disco moves.

_Francis_: We put Rebecca in the lead for this number because she is a pro, and she'll be able to give us the best choreography for this week. However, just because she's in the lead doesn't mean I'm not gonna give my all this week.

"We have to try and stay as synchronized as possible during these parts." Rebecca runs through the steps she's shown them, and the others try to match her movements behind her. She's going pretty fast though, and a lot of them are having issues keeping up - Jamie especially.

"You doing okay back there Jamie?" Rebecca calls. He nods the affirmative, but because of his leg his steps are stiff and sloppy compared to the others.

_Jamie_: Dance is obviously going to be tough for me because of my prosthetic, and I have to admit I was dreading this week before. I don't want my leg to be used an excuse.

Despite his best efforts, Jamie still has difficulty getting the moves down.

* * *

A few minutes later, the rehearsal has disbanded momentarily. Livie and Luke are in the kitchen, with Luke sitting on the edge of the counter and Luke leaning against the wall across from her.

"So how good are you at dancing?" she asks him. He shrugs.

"I'm decent, I guess. Maybe on a scale of one to ten I'm, like, a five?" Livie smiles and nods.

"Yeah, same here. I dunno, I've never been a pro like some of the other people here." She shakes her head. "I could just as easily stumble and fall over during the performance."

"Aw, don't think like that. You've gotta keep your head up about this, or you're gonna get all self-conscious about screwing up and then you _will _screw up."

"Has that happened to you?"

Luke nods, and looks down. "Uh, yeah. I got stuck in my own head for a few months one time during high school, didn't think I'd be able to do anything right. It was actually a pretty bad year for me in general." Luke breaths slowly - clearly whatever memory he's bringing up is difficult for him to talk about. "After a while I was able to build my confidence back up, which is what's important. I got out of my funk, and you clearly got out of the one you were in after your sister." After hearing the mention of her late sister, Livie grimaces ever so slightly.

_Livie_: Luke's comment kind of struck a chord with me, because the truth is I haven't completely stopped mourning for her. I know I have to move on, but it's been super difficult for me because we were so close.

Livie still looks down. "I'm a singer, not a dancer is all." She hops down from the counter. "It's not my strong suit and I don't know if I'll be able to stay out of the bottom."

Luke takes her by the shoulders. "You're gonna do great. Trust me." He flashes a smile and Livie is finally able to crack on of her own. "Thanks" she mumbles before walking off.

**HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT - DISCO INFERNO**

Everybody sits in the choir room talking excitedly about the mentor. Their are too many voices and conversations going on to discern what exactly they're saying, but one word can be picked out of most of them - 'HeMo'. These talks grind to a halt, of course, when Robert Ulrich enters the choir room to announce the mentor.

"Hi everyone. It's time for the Homework Assignment. This week your theme is Dance -ability, and more importantly your ability to mesh well with others and take direction. Therefore, it is fitting that your guest mentor this week be a professional dancer and choreographer."

A pair of legs in a cheerios skirt walk down the hall.

"She's been part of Glee since the beginning, and also rose from a very minor character to one of the staples of the show."

In her hands the clutches a plush unicorn.

"Of course, I'm sure you also know her for her great comedic acting..." At this point all of the contenders have figured out who it is, but they let Robert finish up before cheering. The door opens, revealing their dance mentor.

"Hey everybody!" Heather calls as she steps into the choir room, setting the unicorn plush aside for the time being. The kids cheer when they see her.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Dallas calls when she sees the blonde girl walk to center stage.

_Dallas_: Heather Morris is gorgeous, and she's an amazing dancer, and Brittany is an amazing character, and I just - I just worship the ground that she walks on.

"As I'm sure you all know, Heather Morris plays Brittany Pierce on Glee. She is also a professional dancer and choreographer, having danced for Beyonce, Tina Turner, and had roles in many other shows."

"I am wicked excited to meet you guys, and from what I've seen you're all super talented." She smiles at the group.

"So Heather, before they begin do you have any advice for the contestants?"

Heather nods. "Right, the thing about dancing on Glee is that it doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to _look_ perfect. As long as everybody is working as, like, a cohesive whole. If you forget a move then don't just stand there, you just gotta do something to make it look like you know what you're doing."

Robert claps his hands together. "Okay, so today you guys have prepared 'Disco Inferno' for us."

Heather's eyes light up. "I danced for that song too," she says happily.

"You did!" Robert replies.

"Alright, well I can't wait to see how you all do."

The contestants nod and move their chairs out of the way for the song. The lights dim and music begins. The contestants are staggered up and down the stairs, facing away from Robert and Heather.

All:  
Burn!

They begin sidestepping and snapping their fingers back and fourth to the beat of the music.

All:  
Burn!

As the music picks up, they all spin around and begin a more complex, but still synchronized routine.

All:  
Burn baby burn!  
Burn baby burn!  
Burn it!

They move apart so that Rebecca can stand in the centre.

Rebecca:  
To my surprise  
One hundred stories high!

She moves out of the way, allowing Luke to come in from behind.

Luke:  
People getting loose y'all  
Getting down on the roof, I tell ya

After his solo he and Rebecca rejoin the rest of the group.

Dallas:  
Folks are screaming  
Out of control

Arthur:  
It was so entertaining  
When the boogie started to explode  
I heard somebody say

All:  
Burn baby burn (Lila: Disco inferno)  
Burn baby burn (Lila: Burn that mother down)  
Burn baby burn (Lila: Disco inferno)  
Burn baby burn (Lila: Burn that mother down)

Harry and Blanche move to the front of the group and begin to dance with each other.

Harry and Blanche:  
Up above my head

Harry:  
I hear music (Blanche: I hear music in the air)  
I hear music

Harry and Blanche:  
That makes me know  
There's a party somewhere

Livie:  
Oh, Satisfaction (All: Do do do)  
Came in a chain reaction (All: Burnin')

Jamie:  
I couldn't get enough  
So I had to self-destruct  
I heard somebody say

Jamie stumbles through a few of his moves, but is otherwise decent.

All:  
Burn baby burn (Francis: Disco inferno)  
Burn baby burn (Francis: Burn that mother down)  
Burn baby burn (Francis: Disco inferno)  
Burn baby burn (Francis: Burn that mother down)

All:  
Burn baby burn (Fred: Owww!)  
Burn baby burn (Fred: Burn that mother down)  
Burn baby burn (Fred: Disco inferno)  
Burn baby burn (Fred: Burn that mother down)

They contestants finish the number, several of them panting heavily. Heather and Robert clap.

"Wow guys! That was pretty good!" the Glee actress comments. After everybody is back sitting again, Robert turns to Heather.

"So, what did you think?"

"I think that you're all really talented and...maybe not excellent dancers, but I don't think you're going to have too many problems. Alright, so Rebecca and Blanche - you guys are professionals aren't you?" The two girls laugh and nod, and Heather smiles at their reaction. "I thought so. You guys were very clean and crisp with your movements, and I could yell you have a lot of experience.

"Jamie; I saw you having some difficulty. Now obviously your leg is gonna be a bit of a problem for you, but if you could just try and keep up with the pace of the other dancers then you should be able to pull off most of the other moves." Jamie nods expectantly - he knew he'd be getting some criticism.

"Lila and Fred - you guys were definitely struggling." The two glance at each other and share a grimace of horror as Heather goes on. "Lila, you don't seem to have as much rhythm as the others which made you stand out, but not in a good way. And Fred, your moves were pretty sloppy and it just made it look like you hadn't practiced."

_Fred_: I was kind of miffed when Heather said it looked like I didn't practice. I totally practiced, I just...suck!

"But! Their can only be one winner for this, so I'm gonna choose..." Heather sways back and forth holding her hands to her chin before pointing at Rebecca with both of them. "Rebecca."

Rebecca's face lights up with happiness. The other contestants near her pat her on the back and congratulate her.

_Blanche_: I thought I had a good shot at winning this assignment, but I guess Rebecca's just a better dancer than I am.

"Okay, congrats Rebecca. You're going to get your own private mentoring session with Heather later today, as well as a stand out moment in the music video this week. And what is the video?"

Heather smiles. "It is a mash-up of one of my favorite songs, 'Tik Tok' by Ke$ha - " several of the contestants holler at this. "- and 'Telephone' by Lady GaGa."

_Harry_: I am really excited for this week. I mean, I'm a pretty sick dancer, plus mashups are one of my favorite parts of Glee. I'm so psyched that I get to be part of one!

"The movie is pretty simple - you guys are at a boring high school dance, and then Rebecca turns on the jukebox and begins dancing, and then by the end of the video you're all going to have joined in with her and just totally dance up a storm."

"Alright, and later today you're going to have vocals with Nikki and an intense choreography session with Zach Woodlee."

The contestants nod and say goodbye to Heather as she leaves.


End file.
